Diver from area to north of this country (3)
I believe the answer is:
auk
'diver' is the definition.
(diving bird)
'area to north of this country' is the wordplay.
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'to north of' means one lot of letters go next to another (in a down clue, some letters go above others).
'this country' becomes 'uk' (from the perspective of a British newspaper).
'a'+'uk'='AUK'
'from' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for auk that I've seen before include "Diving sea bird" , "Stocky diving bird" , "One that flies" , "Black/white northern diver" , "Northern sea-bird with short narrow wings" .)