Opener Posted December 6, 2022 Report Share Posted December 6, 2022 (edited) On the L&L for a few days last week and saw a cormorant doing a bit of fishing a couple of miles South of Skipton. But, on Thursday morning around 09:00, I spotted a couple of unrecognised birds low in the water. My aged bird book identified them as black- throated diver in Winter plumage. One actually caught a fish as I watched but they were always behind another boats rear deck rail so I couldn't get a shot on my phone camera. The book says they wouldn't be in this area. I tried posting on a birder site but no reaction. Can anyone back up my observation or suggest a more likely I/D? Edited December 6, 2022 by Opener Autocorrect error Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudds Lad Posted December 6, 2022 Report Share Posted December 6, 2022 Northern European ones in winter are known to visit coastal areas mostly in western Scotland, but also northeast and southwest England, so entirely plausible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opener Posted December 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2022 18 hours ago, Hudds Lad said: Northern European ones in winter are known to visit coastal areas mostly in western Scotland, but also northeast and southwest England, so entirely plausible. Cheers for that. Whilst there is plenty of water in the canal (at the moment!!), in the rivers, in the streams and in the fields, Skipton hardly counts as 'coastal'. That's why I doubted my observation. Maybe they were just on holiday.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerra Posted December 7, 2022 Report Share Posted December 7, 2022 I am assuming you are seeing a bird in winter plumage i.e. a white throat and breast. Any bird can crop up anywhere as a vagrant storm blown or just lost. The last time the UK was surveyed both summer and winter was between 2007 and 2011. There were 17 records of Black throated divers during winter in England spread between the north and the south. So if the bird was either grey back with some markings and a lighter grey back to the neck white front of neck and breast - immature or similar but darker almost black I would tend to agree it was a vagrant Black Throated Diver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opener Posted December 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2022 23 hours ago, Jerra said: I am assuming you are seeing a bird in winter plumage i.e. a white throat and breast. Any bird can crop up anywhere as a vagrant storm blown or just lost. The last time the UK was surveyed both summer and winter was between 2007 and 2011. There were 17 records of Black throated divers during winter in England spread between the north and the south. So if the bird was either grey back with some markings and a lighter grey back to the neck white front of neck and breast - immature or similar but darker almost black I would tend to agree it was a vagrant Black Throated Diver. Yes - white front. That confused me in a bird described as black-throated. I'd have been more understanding of a 'vagrant' or storm blown but it was two individuals associating quite happily (in so far as you can tell a bird is 'happy'). I'm not a birder, just intrigued to see something out of the usual. Delighted to also get a couple of sights of a kingfisher on a brief trip out a week or so before. Also had the side of the boat battered by a couple of swans having a slight disagreement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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