Samuel West
The actor and bird-lover tells us why he became dotty about dippers
Why have you chosen to champion the dipper?
It’s a brilliantly odd bird, in habitat, behaviour and appearance. Like a huge, stocky, neckless wren with a white bib; in a country house murder mystery, the dipper plays the butler. They curtsey from a rock in the middle of a fast stream, then throw themselves into the water like romantic poets after a bad breakup. I love both their vibe and resourcefulness.
Can you describe your first encounter with a dipper?
Easily. I remember, remember the 5th of November 2006 in Hathersage, Derbyshire. I looked over the bridge that crosses the Derwent there, heard the high ‘zik’ call and then saw it flash low over the water and come to rest on a favourite rock. It was joined by another and I watched them diving, swimming and feeding for about 20 minutes.
Why are they given the name dipper?
They’ve been called lots of things, such as water ouzel, or water colly in Ireland. But dipper suits their bobbing and their underwater adventures. They’re built to thrive in harsh conditions: even in winter they hunt by swimming or walking along the bottom of the stream, turning stones and looking for caddis fly larvae underneath.
In winter, they hunt by swimming or walking along the bottom of the stream. T
Where can we find dippers in the UK?
They live by rushing, shallow, upland streams so if you don’t go looking for them there, you’d be forgiven for thinking them a rarity. You can spot them in north and west Britain. We see them regularly in the Yorkshire Dales when we’re filming All Creatures Great and Small. A favourite rock will be streaked with white droppings, so that’s a good place to start looking. The call is pitched high to cut through the noise of the water; they also have a burbling song.
Do they face any threats?
Stream acidification is shrinking the when renovating or painting. They’re declining in Britain, but not as badly as most other birds.
How did you become interested in birdwatching?
My dipper encounter in Hathersage was part of a regular drive to clear my head from a stressful job (as artistic director of the Crucible, Sheffield). Walking in Derbyshire became my early-morning thing when I couldn’t sleep. Now me and my partner, playwright Laura Wade, take our two young daughters out whenever we can.
Where do you normally go to birdwatch?
Depends how long we’ve got. With an hour, the patch at New River Walk, Islington; with four, Rainham Marshes; and with a whole day, North Norfolk – along the A149, the birding Silk Road.
Which species are top of your birding wish list?
In the UK: Ross’s gull, icterine warbler, gyrfalcon, Leach’s storm petrel, Daurian shrike. World: almost any rainforest species. We’re saving South America until the kids have left home.
SAMUEL WEST is an actor and plays Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small on Channel 5. The second season is due to air at the end of this year.