For much of the past year, the lesser-spotted gang-smasher has been a pretty rare beast to find.
In the Summer of 2024, when Sir Keir Starmer's government took office, they were everywhere.
Their very distinctive call 'smash the gangs, smash the gangs' could be heard all around, in TV and radio studios, in conference halls and in Parliament.
It was a proud, some would say rather cocky creature - bellowing out its battle cry for all to hear.
But over the closing months of last year and into 2025. The gang-smasher has become increasingly difficult to spot.
Some enthusiasts, who monitor the migratory flows that signal the return of this creature, have been left increasingly bereft.
Longing for that reassuring 'smash the gangs' warble.
Instead, all we hear these days are the sounds of the criminal gangs - their own distinctive cry, the rumble of the 30-horsepower outboard motors on their small boats.
Defying the gang-smashers, they've pushed across the English Channel this year in one of the biggest migratory flows on record.
But then suddenly, in the dying months of this year, it all stopped. No sign of the criminal gangs anywhere.
Mark White's Migration Monitor: After 28 days of nothing but the sweet chirps of Starmer's songbirds, the criminal gangs are back | GB
One week passed, then two, and three. Still no sign of this fearsome beast from across the water.
And then, an almost miraculous sound. Very faint at first - but then louder - that unmistakable cry 'smash the gangs, smash the gangs'.
The enthusiasts were rejoicing once again. The gang-smasher they told us had triumphed over its pernicious foe.
Clifftop twitchers like myself warned against premature jubilation. These migratory flows are fickle; the weather has a big impact on them.
No, I was told. The gang-smasher had won. Let all rejoice!
Then suddenly, after 28 days of nothing but the sweet chirps of Starmer's songbirds, a distant, ominous tone could be heard from the other side of the Channel.
A faint murmur, giving way to that chilling rumble. The criminal gangs were back, launching their boats across the water in ever greater numbers, heading straight for our shores and scattering the gang-smashers to the four winds.
Maybe the gang-smashers will have better luck next year. We can only hope.