Up Close and Personal with a........BLACK-THROATED DIVER

Since Saturday, a juvenile BLACK-THROATED DIVER has graced Crumbles Pond - the boating and amenities lake within Princes Park in Eastbourne (East Sussex). I visited today and spent the entire afternoon with the bird alone - the bird affording me with some outstanding views. I took well over 1,500 photographs of the bird and have weeded that number down to just over 100 - a selection I offer below. It is remarkable how like Great Northern Diver this species can be at very close range, with the thick neck, strong bill, neatly patterned upperparts - but the giveaway feature of course is that gleaming white flank patch.....enjoy

Princes Park is the location - free parking available in Channel View Road