Blackcaps

[Madmills]

I get blackcaps here every winter and they appeared this year at the beginning of December.
They adore the square blocks of suet you buy in Wilkinsons (as do long tailed tits) so if you were to hang a few in the trees or shrubs in your garden you might find them appearing.

Guinessman, hang some seed feeders full of sunflower hearts in the trees and shrubs and your linnets might just appear too - i get flocks of between 18 and 30 in number here.

[tigertom]

Have got a female blackcap visting every day now they do love fat blocks
been about for a week now the one i had visting last winter kept comeing till march (that was also a female ) hope this one stays about as well
MIKE

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by luckyoldme

I saw three Blackcaps regularly in my Berkshire suburban Garden last winter, and a couple in the summer, but have seen none thus far this winter. I'm guessing the odds are that they were migrants

The odds are that almost all, if not all, Blackcaps seen in the UK are migrants. The birds that breed here seem to migrate to North Africa or Iberia for the winter, with the birds that winter here breeding in continental Europe (eg. Germany and Holland).

Originally Posted by luckyoldme

so curious if the mild weather continues across Europe whether this will decrease our chances of seeing Blackcaps again this winter? Is their need to migrate dictated by the severity of continental weather conditions and their visitation to gardens dictated by lack of available wild food elsewhere?
Such a charming little bird, would be a shame not to see them.....

The majority of migrant species migrate, following the route that they are instinctively 'programmed' with, regardless of weather conditions (although they wait for suitable weather before setting off because trying to migrate in unsettled conditions is very risky). The small numbers of individuals of these species that are seen at the wrong time of year are likely to be those who's inate 'programming' didn't work properly, so they have ended up in the wrong area. In the case of Blackcaps (and Chiffchaffs) it has been suggested that the generally milder winters we now tend to have (and an increase in feeding) has allowed the individuals that flew in the wrong direction during the autumn to survive in the UK when they previously wouldn't have, and after returning to the area they were hatched in to breed they have passed on the same 'faulty' sense of direction to their offspring - resulting in a new migration pathway being founded.
In years where there is plenty of food available in the wider countryside, it is quite likely that fewer individuals will be attracted to less natural food in gardens, even though they may be present in similar numbers.


Other species do move only, or mainly, as a result of bad weather conditions (or lack of food), with the result that the movements of these species are harder to predict (eg. Waxwings only reach the UK in numbers during some winters, and species like Skylarks and Lapwings can often be seen moving south and west during prolonged spells of freezing weather).

Originally Posted by luckyoldme

Merry Christmas one and all!

Hopefully everyone has had a good one - now it's time to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

[Guinnessman1974]

Thanks Madmills - I might try that. Last winter we had a regular flock of up to 21 Lesser Redpolls on my Niger Seed which was a real treat, still hoping to see some this year yet!

Originally Posted by Madmills

I get blackcaps here every winter and they appeared this year at the beginning of December.
They adore the square blocks of suet you buy in Wilkinsons (as do long tailed tits) so if you were to hang a few in the trees or shrubs in your garden you might find them appearing.

Guinessman, hang some seed feeders full of sunflower hearts in the trees and shrubs and your linnets might just appear too - i get flocks of between 18 and 30 in number here.

[Dogghound]

More blackcaps (and chiffchaffs) around here this winter than usual, probably as a result of the mild weather.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

More blackcaps (and chiffchaffs) around here this winter than usual, probably as a result of the mild weather.

Have you had any ringing controls that might indicate where they might have come from? (Or are they not in your usual ringing areas?).

[Dogghound]

No Unfortunately not. I've not managed any warbler controls all year. I get very few continental retraps each year. Only had Swedish and Norwegian blackbirds and a Norwegian goldcrest, this year. It would be good to get data on some of these wintering warblers, certainly current ringing data ties into what you say about our wintering birds being from central Europe (mainly Germany).

[luckyoldme]

Thanks for enlightening me.... :-)

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

No Unfortunately not. I've not managed any warbler controls all year. I get very few continental retraps each year. Only had Swedish and Norwegian blackbirds and a Norwegian goldcrest, this year. It would be good to get data on some of these wintering warblers, certainly current ringing data ties into what you say about our wintering birds being from central Europe (mainly Germany).

It would be interesting to find out if over the years the number of winter recoveries of British bred Blackcaps starts to increase as well though.
Current evidence suggests that most of the wintering individuals come from the continent, but some local birds might be surviving the milder winters after not migrating for some reason.