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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

first winter blackcap (1 Viewer)

We always have both sexes come to feed throughout the winter and they've been fine, just settle in with everything else and no bother to them. This year was ok with a couple of females (always the lady!) but when a male came on the scene he cleared the place and wouldn't allow ANY other Bird near the feeders.

We put the feeders further apart, no success there. That Blackcap must have worked off far more energy in keeping the others away than he ever got from the sunflower heats he ate! In desperation we then moved all the feeders to the back garden ....the Goldies, Greens, Chaffs, Tits, Robin etc have all gradually come on round - but - the Blackcap was never seen again, females either!!! Weird!

Sue
 
We put the feeders further apart, no success there. That Blackcap must have worked off far more energy in keeping the others away than he ever got from the sunflower heats he ate!
I have sometimes had that impression too. The most surprising to me was our current Robin who, when I hung up a small fat ball in a net, would constantly fly from his perch to peck bits off and take them back to his perch to eat - the thing being that to peck the fat he had to hover in front of it like a hummingbird. Time and time again he would do it. You wouldn't have thought it was worth the bother. I can only assume that flying is a lot more energy efficient that I imagined.
 
Blackcap sings in bird desert!!!!!!!!!!!

I was looking out of the window at my bird desert this morning, watching four sparrows and one female blackbird, and all of a sudden a chorus of of what sounded like three or four birds started up in the ivy tangle 10 feet from the window.

It sounded like a robin, a blackbird and a couple of wrens all at once. I thought 'what on earth is going on in there', when out hopped a male blackcap, who sat in the sun-drenched apple tree right in front of the window for about 10 seconds - long enough for me to see what a dapper little gent he is, dressed for a spring wedding in a neat grey suit, his hair neatly slicked down with Brylcreem.

So my bird desert list for 2009 now reads:

Robin
House Sparrow
Blackbird
Collared Dove
Magpie
Blue Tit
Blackcap

Which makes 16, as the blackcap counts as 10, doesn't it?

Isn't nature peculiar?

Jackie
 
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The blackcap female/s left last week, but I haven't seen the male/s for a couple of days now. Looks like they're on their way 'home', a bit earlier than some years.
 
I still have about 20 Blackcaps finishing off the ivy berries , and the Black redstarts are still around as well,they usually leave around about the 10 March,and the swallows and swifts are arriving already;migration is all mixed up this year.
 
My Blackcaps all seemed to clear out on the night of 14/15 March, but yesterday and today a solitary female has been present. Not sure whether it's one of my regulars or a new bird.
 
My male Blackcap Warbler returned on the 6th of this month and the female today, the 13th.
 

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