The highlight of a walk around the Great Orme today was a couple of
red-throated divers close inshore about 1km east of the lighthouse. One was
clearly an adult in summer plumage, the other a juvenile with what I thought
was a surprising amount of red on the throat.
It was a treat to see, and hear, the interactions of these birds, with the
youngster (the bird on the right) constantly begging from the adult.
I'm not sure that I've ever seen a juvenile red-throated diver adopt this begging posture before. Both birds dived while I
watched, but I don't know how successful either were, I certainly didn't see
the adult feed the youngster. Apparently it's quite unusual for juveniles to continue to be fed once they leave their breeding grounds, but not unprecedented.
It's not unusual for juveniles to show some red on their throats but this
seems a bit more extensive than usual to me. Perhaps I just don't see enough
juveniles.
The adult was a very nice bird.
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