Ring ouzels: The ‘mountain blackbird’ making a return to Yorkshire's high points

Another name for this bird is the mountain blackbird ,an appropriate name given its association with the steep sides valleys, crags and rocky moors of high upland paces.

Male ring ouzels are similar at first glance to blackbirds but have a bright white crescent across their breast and white edging to their wings giving these a silvery appearance. The females are browner with a less striking white crescent.

They spend the winter in the mountains in North Africa and Southern Spain where winter temperatures can be as cold as a British winter.

But they have a plentiful supply of juniper berries to feed on and are well able to cope with the worst weather conditions.

The males are the first to leave in late February and are soon back on the moors singing from the top of boulders or trees to establish territories.

Once joined by the females, nest building begins on the ground in sheltered gullies .

They can be shy and difficult birds to observe, quickly ducking out of sight

Therefore, I was delighting on a visit to the Cow and Calf rocks at Ilkley when one flew in and landed on a ledge in full view.

There are around 7,300 pairs in the UK including strongholds on the North York Moors which have been studied for many years and also in the Yorkshire Dales and Peak District national parks,

Ring ouzel numbers have declined sharply in recent years- 71 per cent between 1990 and 2012 according to one estimate. In 2002 the ring ouzel was added to the birds Red Listed as of maximum conservation concern.

Why this is the case is still not clear.

UK ring ouzels and these from elsewhere spend the winter in the same areas yet the European population seems reasonably stable so it would seem the problems do not lie in the wintering areas

It has been established that there is a low survival rate of young UK ring ouzels, perhaps due to predation, lack of invertebrate food and increased disturbance from more humans crossing breeding territories.

The other spring migrant returning to the moors is the Wheatear but this year they seem to be back later than usual, perhaps delayed by bad weather in Spain.

Other migrants included the first pied flycatchers, common redstarts, reed and sedge warblers , grasshopper warblers and cuckoos.

A wryneck was present last week at Skipwith Common near York.