Diverse Divers

Although I do keep an eye on recent bird sightings reports, you couldn't really class us as twitchers - we're just a bit too lazy!
However, every now and then something appears that piques my interest - and the recent high winds have meant some very interesting birds have been showing up lately.  So, reports of an obliging White-billed Diver in Brixham Harbour, coupled with a horrible forecast for our local patch, made a day at the seaside too tempting to pass up.

When we first arrived, it was extremely gusty, making the breakfront an unappealing base of operations. However, the marina & old harbour are nice &  sheltered & some very friendly Turnstones - not to mention a cheeky seal - kept us amused while we waited to get a close view of the Diver. 



Turnstone

Thankfully the wind soon dropped, the sun put in an appearance, and eventually so did the Diver, coming right into the marina & inner harbour.

White-billed Diver



 

We also had some good views of Great Northern and Black-throated Divers, a Black Gullimot and a lonely RazorBill.

 

One of the nicest things about the day (apart from a very welcome fish 'n chip lunch) was that so many families who were out & about for a holiday stroll got interested in what was going on. It was great to chat to them and to see lots of youngsters getting excited about seeing a rare bird - even if they weren't quite sure why! Maybe one or two of them will become the naturalists of tomorrow, after seeing ' that really rare bird from the Artic'!