fly by diver, Holy island (1 Viewer)

[shorebirder]

Didn't even put my bins on this, flew passed as I was changing camera settings, so I just clicked.

Torn between GN and Black throat, seems to have dusky breast band of GN but doesn't seem thick set enough, thoughts?
Dave

 

[chris butterworth]

Looks 'chunky' enough to me plus the breast band and the general jizz appears 'right'. Based mainly on the last photo, GND for me.
Chris

 

[Egrets9]

GN Diver for me too.They are seen in very small numbers on that part of the Northumberland coast.

 

[smiths]

Actually, this bird lacks the white indentation on the neck side so typical of Great Northern Diver. Its feet also look thin, as does its bill. Why is it not just a Red-throated Diver ?

 

[SteveClifton]

Actually, this bird lacks the white indentation on the neck side so typical of Great Northern Diver. Its feet also look thin, as does its bill. Why is it not just a Red-throated Diver ?

Agree!

 

[Adam W]

Certainly at first glance it doesnt look at all like a Red Throated and the pics screamed Great Northern to me but on closer inspection its hard to argue with Smiths points,perhaps this is one of those case where the camera does lie giving a false impression of 'jizz' that said it does seem a bit odd to have 3 seperate photo's non of which show anything near the typical drooping neck humped back flight profile of Red Throated. cant quite make my mind up on this one.

 

[Jan-Paul Charteris]

Looks like a juv Red-throated to me personally. I've never seen a GND with feet looking that small

 

[Jane Turner]

Have a look at the legs as a proportion of body length

 

[chris butterworth]

I'm still in the GND camp as the 'weight' of the overall bird doesn't appear to equate with RTD. Janes photos, while instructive, show the RTD flyng away, so foreshortning the view, and the rear end being measured from the right wing, all the others being measured from the left wing. The OP's photo and the upper GND of Janes montage are VERY close in rear end length.

Chris

 

[Jan-Paul Charteris]

I'm still in the GND camp as the 'weight' of the overall bird doesn't appear to equate with RTD. Janes photos, while instructive, show the RTD flyng away, so foreshortning the view, and the rear end being measured from the right wing, all the others being measured from the left wing. The OP's photo and the upper GND of Janes montage are VERY close in rear end length.

Chris

The upper photo in Jane's montage is the OP's photo!

 

[chris butterworth]

The upper photo in Jane's montage is the OP's photo!

Now, now you know what I meant . The 3rd photo / upper GND photo.

Chris

 

[smiths]

Now, now you know what I meant . The 3rd photo / upper GND photo.

Chris

That one looks more like an Arctic/Black-throated Diver...

 

[Jan-Paul Charteris]

Now, now you know what I meant . The 3rd photo / upper GND photo.

Chris

I do now! I agree with Smiths though I think the one above the GND is Black-throated given the structure and huge white flank. If Jane's image of the RT Diver wasn't fore-shortened, and the line drawn to the near wing as in the others, rather than the far wing, then the length of the rear body and legs would be exactly the same in that RT Diver as in the OP's bird. The bird I think is a BT Diver has a similar length of rear body, but bulkier feet than the OP's bird. The apparent (hard to be sure in the photo) encircling on white round the eye in the OP's bird, extent of dusky neck, colour etc all fit juv Red-throated perfectly

 

[OlaB]

I agree that the OP's bird looks like a RT Diver and Jane's 3rd photo is definitely BT.

I think that one should remember though that there is size variations within all 3 species and foot projection can be hard to use as a single good character sometimes.

 

[Jane Turner]

It goes Mystery, Red-throat, Black-throat, GN.

The summer plummage was a clue )

It looks to me that the Northumberland bird is climbing - which affects how it looks.

 

[Jane Turner]

The OP's photo and the upper GND of Janes montage are VERY close in rear end length.

Chris

They are close - but the top bird is the mystery and the second down a juv RTD

 

[Jane Turner]

Here is a RTD at a very similar angle

http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/Loon_redthroat-fly.jpg

 

[shorebirder]

Thanks for all the comments, took three shots as it flew by, all enlarged here. shots 2 and 3 do admittedly look more like rt diver but the bird still has the look of a large diver to me. Doesn't have the skinny/slight look of red throat. Shame I didn't get my bins/scope on it, distance is a great leveller.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Strandman]

Thanks for all the comments, took three shots as it flew by, all enlarged here. shots 2 and 3 do admittedly look more like rt diver but the bird still has the look of a large diver to me. Doesn't have the skinny/slight look of red throat. Shame I didn't get my bins/scope on it, distance is a great leveller.

Cheers

Dave

strange one this- it looks more like one of the bigger divers to me, with thick stocky neck and relatively massive head and bill base

but I'm struggling to make sense of the layout of the darker browns on head and neck- certainly doesn't look like a juv GND as the dark collar would be much more visible on mid-neck, not just a smudge below the chin

 

[Glaucous1]

Attached a photo of a red-throated diver - may just be in the angles/photos, but the proportions don't look the same as the OP's bird.