Cold Edge and Ogden

It was good to meet Adrian and Sue (I hope I've got your names correct)! at Cold Edge this morning and pleased you enjoy looking at the blog. It felt like back to winter this morning with the cold NW blowing hard and the site living up to it's name. All the birds were hiding away keeping out of the wind and I hope your next visit there is more productive.

Unfortunatly there was not a wader present - when earlier in the week there had been up to 9 species of wader there at the same time. Today just Meadow Pipits, a few Linnets and 1 male Reed Bunting along with the usual Canada Geese.

Ogden was a little more productive this afternoon with 2 Spotted Flycatchers present and a Cuckoo calling for an hour or so in Skirden Clough and in the main plantation.

Where are all the House Martins this year (??) - see comments from the BTO website below;

So what is happening? There can’t be anybody in the UK who hasn’t heard about the Icelandic ash cloud and the resulting complete closure of British airspace. The strong northerly winds that directed the ash cloud towards us have been a dominant feature this spring, making it difficult for birds flying north to make any headway. At the time of writing (late May) there are still reports of migrants arriving at south coast migration watchpoints, including Swifts, Swallows and House Martins.The pattern of arrival this year is very similar to that of last year, only the cause has changed. From the House Martin survey 2009, the latest House Martin to turn up at a regular site last year, build a nest and successfully raise a brood of youngsters, was during the first week in July. So there is still plenty of time, and now that the winds have a more southerly element to them, House Martins that have not yet arrived could do so anytime.If you have House Martins nesting on your property you can help us to determine how successful the 2010 breeding season is for these wonderful birds by taking part in the 2010 House Martin survey. For more information visit http://www.bto.org/home/housemartins.htm