Blackcap

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 We had an unusual visitor to the garden yesterday. I sometimes see these birds in woodland away from the house but I have never seen them close by the house before. This little bird is called a blackcap (for obvious reasons!)

This bird is the male - the colour of the female's cap is a rufous brown but such is the World we live in that she is called a blackcap too! These birds used to be described as Summer migrants. Blackcap overwinter in Europe (France and Spain mostly) and arrive here in Summer. However there has been a recent trend for the birds to overwinter in the UK. At first this was confined to the South of England but they seem to be overwintering further and further North. A near neighbour reported seeing one in her garden in February, but this is the first one I have seen this year.Perhaps this is another consequence of climate change. These birds are a type of warbler and have a very attractive song.

Diary
Its a little warmer! Camera traps revealed a nice shot of our heron on the pond - a mallard duck - a roebuck - and a fox - together with the usual cast of rabbits.




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