Winter Blackcap punctuality

[Richard Baber]

I am very lucky to have Blackcaps visiting my garden each winter, feeding on fat and sunflower seeds. We have beech woods very close, which I guess hosts a continental influx each year. I have never seen, or heard, a Blackcap there in the summer.

This is the third year I've kept records for the BTO Garden Birdwatch and every year so far, a Blackcap has appeared for the first time in the second week of December. They vanish with equal punctuality in the first week of April.

I'm curious as to whether they are flying into and out of the country in early December/early April or whether they are around for longer, but not visiting my garden. Any information gratefully received.

Here's this year's first male. Apologies for the poor 'taken-through-the-kitchen-window' quality. Isn't he handsome?

[RoyW]

Ringing recoveries, and other observations, suggest that almost all of the Blackcaps that breed in the UK migrate south-west during in the autumn and spend the winter in north-west Africa and Iberia (some Backcaps winter south of the Sahara but there is so far no evidence that this includes those that breed in the UK, and there is a single winter recovery of a British breeding bird within the UK).
The Blackcaps that winter here seem to start to arrive on the east coast from late September, shortly after most of the breeding birds have left. The ones that winter here seem to mainly come from the near continent (Holland, Belgium etc), and have apparently developed a north-westerly autumn migration route within the last 30 years or so. It is likely that the majority of these don't start visiting gardens until late Nov, early Dec, or later, because there is plenty of natural food available before then - although if they happen to find a feeding station earlier they will probably visit.

[Richard Baber]

Hi Roy
Thanks for your very helpful reply.
Richard

[Madmills]

The blackcaps i get here have arrived a bit earlier this year, i didn't see them until the end of December last year.

They feed on the sunflower hearts and adore the suet blocks i buy.