Boatbirder.com: 📖 White-billed Diver 17/04/2025

Thursday, 17th April 2025, 🌤️ 10c ~ Wind N @ 11mph ~ I had a very enjoyable day out today with David Lesley and his dad, Rob, in Portsoy, searching for White-billed Divers.

Before 2011, the White-billed Diver was considered a vagrant in north-east Scotland, with only 20 recorded sightings, most of which were birds passing at sea. However, today they are a regular spring visitor, using the waters off Portsoy as a staging area during the spring migration.

Portsoy Dolphin Sculpture

We began at the harbour, setting up our scopes near the dolphin sculpture, where we were able to shelter from the breeze. Almost immediately, I spotted some Long-tailed Ducks near the shore, transitioning into their summer plumage. After about a minute, David successfully sighted our first White-billed Diver, which was a pleasant surprise considering how quickly it happened. The bird was in summer plumage, and its distinctive ivory-colored beak was very noticeable.

One of many Long-tailed Ducks today.

As we continued our scans, we observed many Gannets heading along the coastline, along with Razorbills, Guillemots, Kittiwakes, and Fulmars. A few Sandwich Terns screeched past as they headed west, while Cormorants and Shags fished offshore. It made for quite an idyllic setting.

Passing Gannet at Portsoy.

We then decided to head to the other side of the harbour to scan the nearby bay. Here, we found dozens more Long-tailed Ducks. On the surrounding rocks, there were a few Eiders and several Gulls. A Red-throated Diver was also spotted nearby, and I managed to locate our second summer-plumaged White-billed Diver of the day. Not to be outdone, Rob then spotted a third, this one still in winter plumage. We then managed to identify a Diver flying west low over the water as a Black-throated Diver, so not a bad haul for a shore-based search!

Highly cropped image of White-billed Diver.

We then proceeded to Findlater Castle, situated just west of Sandend. Upon arriving at the car park, we heard and later spotted a Corn Bunting along the fenceline. As we walked towards the coast, Rob noticed a single Swallow flying by, marking our first sighting of the year. In the fields, we saw Yellowhammers and Linnets, and we also observed a large flock of Pink-footed Geese, likely feeding before their journey back to their breeding grounds in Iceland.

While scanning the sea, we recorded many of the same species we had seen previously, including another summer-plumage White-billed Diver. After having lunch, we wrapped up the day with a delightful treat of ice cream from the Portsoy Ice Cream shop, which was a perfect way to conclude a wonderful outing. Special thanks to David for driving, and to both Rob and David for their excellent company.