When I've done the Big Garden Birdwatch over the last few years I have often seen a blackcap in my Northamptonshire garden. I hardly ever see them in the normal course of events - they seem to be a bird that takes a bit of spotting.
And mostly we think of blackcaps as being summer visitors - they are warblers after all - that arrive in spring and whose songs light up the spring and summer days.
But over the last few decades blackcaps have become a lot commoner in winter - most of our wintering birds seem to be of German origin.
Here is a distribution map for blackcaps from last year's BGBW - a good spread of records but with a tendency for them to be seen towards the southwest of Britain rather than the northeast.
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
I got a female a couple of weeks ago with which I was chuffed with as Warblers always give me a sense of Spring - even though this one was obviously over wintering.
By the way - there seem to be a few 'Nordic' Jackdaws about - another result of the Scandinavian invasion!
That's really good information. I hope this harsh winter has not had too much of an effect on them, as we are worried at Otmoor that we many have lost our Cetti's warblers as none have been heard, with their distinctive loud song, since the New Year. Anyway, niece flock of waxwings in Reading at the moment providing excellent views.
redkite