Deluge of divers
27 Jan 2014
Of the 3 regularly-wintering diver species, Red-throated usually features on the highest proportion of January complete lists (2.2%), followed by Great Northern (1.2%) and Black-throated (0.5%). In the first 3 weeks of 2014, however, the tables were turned and Great Northern Diver held top spot, featuring on 3.1% of complete lists. Whilst there has been a slight increase in Red-throated Diver records this year (2.5%), the Black-throated Diver reporting rate has doubled (to 1.0%) compared to the long-term average.
The strong winds in December and around the turn of the year seem the likely explanation for the increase in records of the scarcer 2 divers of this trio, as birds were presumably forced into sheltered inshore waters to find food. Mild and comparatively calm conditions over the last couple of weeks have seen the reporting rates begin to drop. There were still fairly high number of records of both species last week though, including inland birds and unusually large counts for some locations, such as 3 Black-throated and 4 Great Northern Divers in Blakeney harbour, Norfolk.
All 3 species feature in a helpful new (and very timely!) BTO ID video on winter divers.
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