Most of our migrants seem to be here now, but not all in big numbers. Though we do seem to have plenty of Reed and Sedghe Warblers in reedbeds, there still don't seem to be many Swallows over reedbeds (nor elsewhere). The timing of arrival (seen on the results page here) seemed normal enough, but the actual numbers do seem to be very low indeed.

The arrival of Swifts continues apace, and they are now quite well spread through England, Wales and Ireland, but most have yet to reach Scotland.Turtle Doves are also only just arriving, with virtually all records so far coming from south and east England. Arriving very late this year are Cuckoos and it'll be interesting to see if how numbers change in the coming weeks. Interestingly, all of these late arrivals announce themselves with very distinctive calls, whether that be screaming, purring or Cuckoo-ing.

It seems that with a slight easterly hint to the wind migration really happened over the weekend. Many of the commoner migrants arrived in better numbers, and the first of the later arrivals were recorded.

The easterly winds stretched right across Europe and as predicted, a few interesting eastern species were recorded. Reports of a possible Black-eared Kite (the eastern race of Black Kite) in Norfolk were followed by a Calandra Lark on Fair Isle and a Black Lark in Norfolk (the latter being only the third British record).

More run of the mill, but no less interesting, were good arrivals of species such as Turtle Dove and Swift, with the latter as ever accompanied by Hobbies. Looking back at other arrivals over the spring, we can see that arriving slightly late were Grasshopper Warbler and Garden Warbler, whereas dead on time were Lesser Whitethroats.

Osprey migration
For anyone that has been following the return migration of Logie the Osprey, she finally made it back to her eyrie on 23 April. Her reception hasn't exactly a warm one, finding an intruding female on her nest. Logie has been carrying a solar-powered satellite transmitter since she left Scotland last summer, and full details of her migration north, and photos of her return, can be found on the website of the Highland Foundation for Wildlife.

Whilst the unseasonably cool spring weather is making it feel more like early March than mid April, spring migrants are still arriving. Most of the expected species have trickled in, in small numbers, but we are still awaiting some of the big movements to happen. If the wind turns south or southeast and lightens, the south coast headlands should see large numbers of hirundines and warblers passing through.

The first Black Terns have already been reported and the next week should see more of these turning up around the country. A few Swifts have already been reported, but the latter part of the month should see these arrive in numbers, along with the first Spotted Flycatchers.

House Martin numbers should start to build up during the next week and some of those lucky enough to have them nesting on their houses may well see their welcome return. Now is also a good time to listen out for the first Cuckoo in your area, as one bird has already been seen as far north as Argyll.

For those lucky enough to be able to watch the sea, waders, terns and skuas should begin to feature strongly as Common and Arctic Terns make their way north over the next few weeks, along with Whimbrels and godwits, which begin to peak by the end of the month. (See Bar-tailed Godwit)

Osprey migration
As spring progresses, why not follow the travels of Logie the Osprey online. Logie has been carrying a solar-powered satellite transmitter since she left Scotland last summer, and as of today Logie is in the Lake District, having made her way here over the last few days via the West Midlands. She arrived back in England on 12 April at 5.45pm, almost directly above the Brighton west pier. To follow her trip, check out the Highland Foundation for Wildlife pages.

As migrants continue to trickle in, this is a good time to watch out for scarce visitors as well. Species such as Purple Heron, Black Kite and Bluethroat have all been seen recently, so you never know what you might find!

Other fresh arrivals include the first Little Terns (Dawlish Warren, Devon, and Dorset) and and it will only be a matter of time before the first Arctic Terns and Black Terns are seen. Also worth keeping an eye (or more likely ear) out for in your local reedbeds are Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers which should be arriving in numbers now

At the other end of the scale many winter migrants are now thinning. There are still plenty of Brambling around, though these are generally quite late leaving. The BTO Ringing Unit recently received a report of an early departure though, with a Blackbird ringed in November 2007 in East Yorkshire being recaught by ringers back in Sweden on 23 February this year. This is very early for a bird to return, and is rather surprising!

Osprey migration
As spring progresses, why not follow the travels of Logie the Osprey online. Logie has been carrying a solar-powered satellite transmitter since she left Scotland last summer, and as of today is STILL waiting for good weather on an estuary on the north coast of Spain. She should then cross the Bay of Biscay, head through Brittany and then make the crossing to the south coast. To follow her trip, check out the Highland Foundation for Wildlife pages.

The slight break in the weather has allowed a good number of migrants to cross into the country. The first Whitethroats of the year were seen yesterday in Dorset and East Sussex, and the first Reed Warbler was in Gwent on 1 April (honestly). There were also another couple of Sedge Warblers along the south coast and quite a few reports of Yellow Wagtails.

Of note on the rarity front were Britain's earliet ever record of Great Reed Warbler on the Scilly Isles last week, a few Bluethroats (including some of the white-spotted race) and plenty of spring Firecrest.

Species to look out for in the coming week are the main arrival of Blackcaps (already singing on territories but still in quite low numbers) and Willow Warblers filtering through from the south coast. Meadow Pipit passage will also be picking up, with peak numbers (up to several thousand in a morning is possible) anytime around now. There should also be a few early records of species such as Hobby, Cuckoo, Tree Pipit and Garden Warbler.

There has hardly been a rush of migrant arrivals in the last week; more of a steady trickle. There are still good numbers of Wheatear and Chiffchaff arriving, the former dead on time and the latter slightly later than last spring. One very early report that did come in was of a Lesser Whitethroat on a bird table in Worcestershire yesterday. The bird did look very scruffy (as can be seen above), and may have wintered locally. Lesser Whitethroats arrived quite early in 2007, so it'll be interesting to see if this bird has set a trend for 2008.

Another early species was Sedge Warbler in Gwent, with a single bird seen on the 20th. Slightly more unusual was the report of a Hoopoe on the Beds/Bucks border, so you never know where things might turn up!

Species to look out for in the coming week are the main arrival of Blackcaps, and we should also see a few Willow Warblers filtering into the south coast. Meadow Pipit passage will also be picking up, with peak numbers (up to several thousand in a morning is possible) anytime around now. There should also be a few early records of species such as Hobby, Cuckoo, Tree Pipit and Yellow Wagtail.

In many parts of southern England, spring is definitely not in the air, with sleet a few days ago in Norfolk and snow forecast! This stromy weather that arrived over the last week will have held up many migrants filtering through the country, though weather in Scotland over the last week has been perfect for arrivals. The weather has also been more clement along the south coast and migrants have been drifting in. Arrivals have been dominated by the usual suspects, with Sand Martins well spread now (including 120 at Drift Reservoir in Cornwall and 100 near Glastonbury in Somerset), but still very few Swallows (the furthest north recently was in Cheshire).

At Portland Bird Observatory, though, they were pouring in, and on the 16th they recorded 150 grounded Wheatears, following a more modest 30 the previous day. Surprisingly the arrival only included a few other species, including 70 Chiffchaffs. Elsewhere along the south coast, Dungeness Bird Observatory recorded 25 Chiffchaffs, along with two Little Ringed Plovers, eight Sandwich Terns, six Black redstarts and 15 Firecrest.

It is perhaps not surprising that the incredibly strong westerlies have halted any signs of early migration. What is more surprising is that we haven't seen any real arrival of seabirds with these winds. We might expect to see early Puffins ar Balearic Shearwaters being pushed to inshore waters, so anyone braving the west coast should keep an eye out.

One species to look out for in the coming weeks is Siskin as March is really the peak month to see big numbers. Siskin are increasingly attracted to gardens in recent years, so do keep an eye out for them, and if you do want to attract them, try feeding Nyjer seed or hanging up red nut bags, which they really are attracted to.

We have received a few anecdotal reports recently of birds starting to move. Some of these are birds leaving (flocks of over 5,000 thrushes in Staffordshire) and some are of birds presumably arriving. The latter include an increase in numbers of Skylark generally and in some northern parts, reports of Song Thrush returning earlier than normal. Interestingly though, this isn't necessarily borne out in the BirdTrack results, as Song Thrushes in southern Scotland seem to be late arriving and occurring less than in previous years.

We have also recently been receiving quite a few reports of Pink-footed Geese in inland areas. Most of these, though, will simply be birds commuting between the three main wintering areas in east Scotland, northwest England and East Anglia. Late winter sees a general redistribution of birds between areas, so do keep an eye out for birds passing overhead. If you happen to be in one of the wintering areas, also keep an eye out for birds with neck-collars. These provide a wealth of information on movements of birds around the country.

With a change in the weather, it will be interesting to see if we see an upsurge in records of some wintry species. In some parts Brambling numbers are well up, with flocks of up to 600 in Buckinghamshire. Notice how the pattern in occurrence isn't the same for Chaffinch though and its interesting to think why this may be. Specialist versus generalist diets?

For ardent gull-watchers, the news of the week was the final 'splitting' of some of the gulls by the BOURC (British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee). The BOU maintains the official list of birds seen in Britain, and recommends what we treat as species and what they should be called. Their most recent decisions include the splitting of both Caspian Gull and American Herring Gull, and BirdTrack will follow suit shortly. The former is a scarce visitor to Britain, breeding, as its name suggests, around the Caspian and Black Seas (in Europe found as close as Germany). American Herring Gull is a very rare visitor from, as its name suggests, America, and the best place to see one is in one of the harbours on the west coast of Ireland. Full details of the BOURC's latest decisions can be found here.

The continuing mild weather has seen numbers of many species still remaining remarkably low, particularly wildfowl. Compare the trend in reporting rate for species such as Teal, Pochard and Shoveler. Interestingly, the same pattern is also shown Greater Canada Goose, and it would be interesting to hear of any explanations for this (note how this doesn't apply to Greylag Goose).

Winter visitors are still being reported in good numbers in pockets though, such as 550 Brambling in Surrey and 38 Goosander in Staffordshire. Other interesting counts came in of 12 Greenshank in Devon, 5 Jack Snipe in Gloucestershire, 6 Hen Harrier in Norfolk and 47 Little Egret in Devon. Scarcer species reported include Smew (Essex, Kent, Norfolk and Warwickshire), several 'white-winged' gulls (Glaucous and Iceland), and Dartford Warbler in Lincolnshire (the second record at the site in as many years).

Winter thrush counts are still low though, and we have very few Fieldfare counts over 200, nor Redwing over 300.Are there really no big flocks out there?

As this is the last update before 2008, we'd like to wish all of our BirdTrack recorders a very Happy New Year, and hope to see your records continuing to pour in during 2008.

It is continually suprising how many "summer migrants" are reported in December, and there have beens everal reports of Swallow in the last week. Slightly more appropriate are the large numbers of finches now building up. As the winter cools down, we are just starting to see much large numbers of species such as Siskin and Brambling, though interestingly, compare these two species to the far fewer Chaffinches.and Greenfinches being reported at the moment.