A visit to see 'Black Belly'

 

I had been intrigued when I heard that a Dipper had turned up in Norfolk last November. They are normally a bird of the western half of the country.
 It turned out that it was actually a visitor from the continent as it was of the Black-bellied form rather than the standard brown-bellied type.
 I never considered going to see it as at the time as it was extremely elusive and subsequently disappeared.
 However last month the bird was rediscovered on a backwater of the River Thet in Thetford.

As I had never seen the continental form of Dipper before, this morning I took a trip out.

Thetford is a town I have been past many times but never stopped at. I mst say I wished I had as it it is a lovely place, very unspoilt with the river flowing right through it.

The Dipper was easily found at the site it has been frequenting over the winter and was incredibly confiding showing down to 3 or 4 yards.
 A Kingfisher was also seen nearby, but it appears I missed another couple of Goodies. A couple of Otters live on the river and are constantly seen in various places through the town.
 A photographer showed me pictures he had taken the day before of them sitting out on the bank just the other side of the river. He had seen one of them just before I arrived but typically I couldn't find them.

Black-bellied Dipper

Taking a Dip