A bird taking a swim? (6)
I believe the answer is:
dipper
'a bird' is the definition.
(dipper is a kind of bird)
'a swim?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'swim?' could be 'dip' (dip can mean a brief swim) and 'dip' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'per' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'taking' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dipper that I've seen before include "big one in the sky" , "one browses selectively" , "Aquatic bird" , "Ladle; bird" , "Water bird - Great Bear" .)