Great Northern Divers: The stars of horror movies which can be seen on Yorkshire's coast

A few come further inland and one has been present on the main lake at Pugney's Country Park near Wakefield, also the nearby Calder Wetland reserve.

They are magnificent birds, even in subdued grey and white winter plumage, swimming past with long thick neck held erect, large head and long dagger-like beak.

Occasionally one might have kept much of its summer plume of chequered black-and-white back and neck band and green gloss on the head.

They are entertaining to watch as they fish, sometimes swimming along with their heads underwater looking for the fish below them.

Then they will dive and it is impossible to guess where they will come up again because they can stay under for as long as two minutes.

They come from Iceland, Greenland and some from Canada where they nest round lakes. During the mating season they make weird wailing cries which are often used as sound effects on horror movies.

Two other diver species, red-throated and black-throated are also seen annually around our coasts and both breed in small numbers in the north of Scotland. -about 1,500 pairs of red-throated and about 150 pairs of black-throated.

Both are smaller than the great northern and do not go as far out to sea, feeding on sand-eels and other small sea creatures.

They too might be seen inland- a red-throated diver was reported on the canal marina at Hebden Bridge.

A much scarcer visitor from the far north- a White-billed diver, is occasionally reported on the east coast with Filey, Bridlington and Scarborough Bays among the best places to look. It can be hard to tell the two apart but the white-billed is slightly larger than the great northern diver and has an ivory coloured bill.

Last weekend''s Storm Darragh brought more little auks down the Yorkshire coast with good numbers seen off Flamborough Head.

Other sightings included a juvenile Slavonian grebe at the St Aidan's reserve, Leeds. A drake ring-necked duck and smew were on Hornsea Mere.