The cold, fast-flowing streams of the West are home to the American Dipper, North America’s only truly aquatic songbird. Dippers first caught Michael Forsberg’s attention as a child, when his family would vacation in the Colorado mountains to escape the heat and humidity of Nebraska summers. The young angler occasionally spotted chunky little gray birds that bobbed up and down on rocks, dove into the water, and resurfaced with insects in their beaks. Now a professional photographer, Forsberg returned to the streams of his childhood over four years to document the dippers’ life cycle. “I call them a trout with feathers because they eat the same things,” he says, “and they are remarkable underwater.” Through the project, Forsberg has gained a deep appreciation for the resilient birds and their role as sentinels of riparian health. Film by Mariah Lundgren, Platte Basin Timelapse Dippers dive for their dinner or swim or walk along the riverbed in search of...