Black-throated Diver -1994

Scarce winter visitor and passage migrant. Recorded in all months except June, July and August.

Mathew (1894) classified the Black-throated Diver as a winter visitor on the strength of it being included in one of his correspondent's lists, whereas Lockley et al. (1949) considered it "almost as frequent as the Great Northern Diver in winter". Dickenson and Howells (1962) stated it "has always been, and still is, an uncommon bird" in Pembrokeshire, and Saunders (1976) classified it as "scarce" and the rarest of the divers. There has been an increase in the number of active observers in Pembrokeshire in recent decades with superior optical aids to those available in the past, revealing the Black-throated Diver to be a regular winter visitor and passage migrant in small numbers. It is probably still slightly under recorded, divers often being tantalisingly just too far away for certain identification. Nonetheless it has been recorded from all around the outer coast at one time or another, Fishguard Harbour, Strumble Head, St Bride's Bay and the Amroth—Saundersfoot area being the localities from which it is most often reported. Usually one or two birds are seen, occasionally three or four and perhaps a dozen are spread around the county coastline each winter. Has only been recorded inland at Llysyfran reservoir and is the only diver to have been recorded as far out to sea as the Smalls.

A few birds have been noted in full summer plumage, in the months of May, September and October.