GREAT NORTHERN DIVER

Despite its seeming ‘ familiarity’, the Great Northern Diver (aka Common Loon in

North America) is not really a British breeding bird. The familiarity is more in imagery, from field guides and even unwittingly from the calls being used in all sorts of out-of-context settings in the soundtracks of movies, TV programmes and computer games! Indeed, only the call of the Bee-eater seems to be more misused.

Despite, not being a regular breeding bird, Great Northern Divers can be found in British waters throughout the year, including over-summering birds in their ‘ breeding finery’.

Come this time of year, they start to be seen more widely around the coast, and can be picked up on seawatches almost anywhere around the coast.

In breeding plumage, the head and neck are black (with a green sheen) and the thick bill is black. The back is beautifully checked white on black, the breast and belly are purest white and the lower neck has a distinctive black collar and patches of fine ‘zebra striping’. In winter, (or indeed juvenile) plumage, structure and size are good ID pointers.

They can be told from the smaller (and somewhat scarcer) non-breeding Black-throated Diver by the heavier bill, the trace of the neck collar, and the appearance of being dark at the front, and greyer at the back (rather than the other way round). Plus GNDs lack the white oval near the back of the flank at the water line. Look for these big beauties this month. But don’t expect to hear them, except perhaps on your TV…