Snow bunting: The 'coolest of birds' which you can spot on Yorkshire's coast
The snow bunting is a bird that always makes me think of chilly places.
It is not surprising because this bird has the distinction of being the land bird that breeds the farthest north in the world.
In summer the males are a pure white with black markings but in autumn they are more sandy coloured although they still have plenty of white on them.
In winter between 10,000 and 15,000 come to Britain and are scattered around our coast on shingle and sandy shorelines, salt marshes and coastal stubble fields.
They feed along the edge of the sea where the waves are constantly bringing in seeds and the flock is entertaining to watch with the birds at the end of the lines repeatedly flying up and over those in front and dropping down at the front.
This produces a constant flurry of white. On the Orkney Islands snow buntings are known as snowflakes and it is easy to see why.
A few snow buntings venture inland and are best looked for at high points on the North York Moors and Yorhsire Dales including Ingleborough and Pendle Hill.
There are a handful of breeding sites south of the Arctic Circle and one is on the highest peaks of the Cairngorms in Scotland where there are between 60 and 100 pairs. Because of these remote nest sites it was not until 2011 that the first national survey of UK snow buntings was carried out.
Walkers in June in the Highlands should listen out for the male snow bunting's song, a loud sweet sound coming down from the rocks and boulders around ski slope car parks.
Further north they can easily be observed in Icelandic towns and cities, including Reykjavik, where they nest under roofs and in outbuildings, discarded boxes and even tin cans,
Numbers seen here each winter have fallen over the past 50 years, perhaps as a result of global warming with snow buntings not having to travel as far south as they once did.