Great northern diver is classified in the county as a "rare winter visitor" and so to have three birds in the county on the same day is quite something!

It was the construction of the QMR which is credited with the increase in records for the diver since the 1980s so it's fitting that one of the birds was at  QMR; the other two, found by Berkshire's birding prodigy Marek Walford,  were on the county's other great stretch of water, Theale main pit

In spite of the date of the phenomenon, December is the most likely month to see this diver in the county (with February the favoured month for the two other "common" divers)

The juvenile in these photographs was at QMR, taken on November 16th 2008 from the area adjacent to the sailing club car park. Please note: you need a Thames Water permit to enter QMR -see HERE to learn how to get one
See why members of the BOC may not need one in future!

 

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