Great Northern Diver

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Great Northern Diver in the UK

A winter visitor and passage migrant, with around 4,000 birds thought to winter around UK coasts. They are thought to come from Iceland, Greenland and Canada. It is Amber-listed. Counts peaked in winter 2015 to 2016, and since then numbers have risen in Scotland but fallen across the UK as a whole. It does not breed here: the one mapped breeding record was a bird paired with a Black-throated Diver for several years up to 2008. A few non-breeders stay off Scotland through the summer.

Where and when to see a Great Northern Diver

Shetland, Orkney, the Outer Hebrides and the sea lochs and sounds of western Scotland hold the most. Further south, try sheltered bays in Cornwall and Devon and large harbours on the south coast. Birds arrive from October and many stay into May, when some are in full summer plumage. They usually feed alone, well spread out, and dive for long periods, so scan slowly with a telescope on a calm day. After November gales, single birds turn up on inland reservoirs and gravel pits and can stay for weeks.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Coastal seas (winter).
Diet: Fish, crabs.
Field note: Winters around UK coast.

How to identify a Great Northern Diver

Much the largest regular diver: close to a Cormorant in length but far bulkier, sitting low with a thick neck. The bill is a heavy, pale grey dagger held level. The head looks angular, with a steep forehead and often a bump on the forecrown. In winter it is dark grey-brown above and white below, with a dark half-collar on the side of the neck and a pale notch above it. Summer adults have a black head, a striped neck patch and a black back chequered with white squares. In flight the feet look huge.

Call and song

Mostly silent in British waters. The far-carrying wails and yodelling laugh belong to the breeding lakes, but birds in summer plumage sometimes wail from Scottish bays on calm days in April and May. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Black-throated Diver: Black-throated is slimmer with a thinner bill, a rounded head and a clean straight divide between dark and white on the neck, and usually shows a white patch at the rear flank.
• Red-throated Diver: Red-throated is the smallest and palest diver, with a slim upturned-looking bill held tilted up and a largely white face in winter.
• White-billed Diver: White-billed is a rare visitor with an ivory-yellow bill that lacks a dark ridge and is held angled upwards, and a paler face.

Month by month

A winter visitor, typically in the UK from October through to April. Numbers peak in January. See the January birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Great Northern Diver is an Uncommon tier bird, worth +3 points when you log one. It is Amber-listed in Birds of Conservation Concern 5, the middle level of concern in the UK. It is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so it is an offence to disturb it at or near the nest. We blur the location of every sighting of this species.

Where to see it

Reserves where the Great Northern Diver is on the list:

• Islay

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Pacific DiverLegendary · Coastal seas (very rare)
• White-billed DiverRare · Coastal seas (vagrant)
• Red-throated DiverUncommon · Lochs (summer); coast (winter)
• Black-throated DiverRare · Highland lochs (summer)
• Long-tailed DuckRare · Coastal seas (winter)
• Red-necked GrebeRare · Coastal seas (winter)

Great Northern Diver: quick answers

Where can I see a Great Northern Diver in the UK?

The Northern Isles and the west coast of Scotland from November to April, where a short seawatch from a ferry terminal or headland often produces several. In England, sheltered bays in west Cornwall are the most reliable. Calm water makes them far easier to pick out.

Is the Great Northern Diver rare in the UK?

Not in the right places. Several thousand winter here, but they are concentrated in northern and western Scotland. On the North Sea coast of England and inland it is scarce, and a reservoir bird is a local event.

What does a Great Northern Diver eat?

Fish, crabs and other shellfish caught on the seabed. It can stay under for a minute or more and often surfaces a long way from where it went down. Crabs are brought up and shaken apart at the surface.

Kit that helps

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