There is a species of bird called an American Pipit, aka a pipit for short. There is an old Peter, Paul and Mary song we all know called Puff, the Magic Dragon. I recently got to “hang out” with a pipit for about a week that I named “Pip” (clever, huh?). Pip inhabited the banks of the South Platte River here so I “wrote” a song about it, sung to the melody of Puff, the Magic Dragon.

Pip, the magic Pipit

Lived by the Platte

And frolicked on the water’s banks

In a land called Littleton, oh…

I make no apologies for having that catchy tune now stuck in your head for the next 24 hours.

It was January 7th of this year that I finally found a pipit, a bird not necessarily rare for Colorado but certainly a bit uncommon. Not only are they small, but their brown and gray coloring allows them to blend into their surroundings and thus avoid predators. (Click on any image below to enlarge)

**Above** - An American Pipit, aka a pipit, showed up in shallow water of the South Platte River

**Above** - The pipit checks out its reflection in the water

For the most part, pipits breed in the summer in Northern Canada and Alaska while smartly wintering in areas mostly adjacent to the Gulf and into Mexico. So although Colorado is commonly on their migratory route, why this particular one was here so late/early in its migration is a mystery. Of course, our winter has been one of the warmest on record, so a lot of bird species have been off schedule lately.

**Above** - The pipit continued walking along the mud in the river

I was ecstatic that I found Pip. Not only could I get some decent photos, especially since I assumed I’d likely never see another pipit again, but, lo and behold, Pip stayed in the same general area almost the whole week. Then one day I went back to the location and found not only one, but TWO Wilson’s Snipes picking at undecipherable organisms in the mud along with Pip.

**Above** - These two Wilson’s Snipes hunted separately for quite a while then finally met up in the water giving me a perfect shot of both side-by-side

Above-Wilson's Snipe dunks its beak in the water

Above-Wilson's Snipe heads to the reeds to hide for a while

Above-Pair of Wilson's Snipes synchronize hunting

Above-Preening session of a Wilson's Snipe

Even a pair of Killdeer joined in that day, a true jackpot! Killdeer are common shorebirds here but Wilson’s Snipes are not. Like the pipits, snipes breed up north and then move south, even as far south as South America to winter and their coloring camouflages them well although their plump size and willingness to walk in the water makes them easier targets for my lens.

**Above** - This Killdeer went for a sip of water in the river

**Above** - The Killdeer on the left is signaling to its mate that it is “ready” to mate. That is likely the male on the right as it is the larger one of the pair. Spoiler alert - they didn’t mate.

**Above** - This can give you an idea of the size of a Wilson’s Snipe as it marched along the shore with a Killdeer in the background. They are roughly the same size - snipe maybe a touch bigger.

**Above** - And here you can compare the pipit’s size to a Killdeer - it is much smaller.

One of the days I saw Pip I realized he was taking a bath in the water and I captured most of it on video below.

Above-Video of pipit taking a bath in the river

I saw the snipes and the pipit off and on for several days but the last time I saw Pip was a real treat. I had no longer seen him at the same location and assumed he had just moved on, so I moved downstream about a quarter of a mile in the hopes of finding other interesting bird species. There was not much that day except for a snoozing Great Blue Heron up in a tree.

**Above** - This great Blue Heron stayed asleep in the tree the whole time I was there.

As I was quietly photographing the heron so as not to awaken it, I happened to glance down hearing the faintest “pip” squeak and no more than 20 feet away was my friend Pip, not caring a bit about my presence as if he knew I was an old friend coming back for a reunion. The proximity, soft late afternoon light, and abundance of tiny mud creatures gave me ample opportunities for one last round of portraits of him.