Like many people at the moment I suspect, I'm up early listening to the news from Ukraine. This morning however I turned off the newsfeeds to listen to a blackcap singing. Not just any blackcap but the male which has been resident in the garden all winter.
What I'm thinking now is with his starting to sing to set out his territory and attract a mate, will this chap and the female with him all winter, actually stay here to breed? UK wintering blackcap normally come from north-central Europe and return there to breed, being replaced by the north African blackcap who over-summer in the UK. But a small percentage of blackcap (and their relatives the chiffchaff, one of which has also been here over winter) have become truly resident.
The issue I have then is that of proving this bird is resident. Blackcaps are notoriously uniformly bland in appearance. Don't get me wrong I love these males and their sooty black cap, but my overwintering one doesn't really have any other distinguishing plumage. Except that looking at some images I've taken over the weeks he does has a slight kink in the back of the cap and his white lesser covert somehow always sticks out just a bit. Hopefully that's enough to go on if he and the female remain here in the breeding season and I can prove it is this pair that have chosen to stay here all year round.
More keen observations then, but even if they depart soon and are not resident, that wonderful song this morning enriched the garden during these dark days.
Lovely photo Andrew. We haven't had an overwintering Blackap from Europe for years now although we used to get one regularly. I do hope if one appears for the breeding season you will be able to use the features you mention to check if it is the same one.
ReplyDeleteThank you Caroline. He's still here, munching away on the fatballs, and in fine song this morning. Have not seen the female for a week or so but hopeful she is still around and they remain as a pair - only time will tell :-)
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