Bird ID (blackcap?)

calum

New visitor to our garden today… looks like a blackcap to us, but don't recall seeing one before so anyone care to confirm our guess? (I gather they're not as rare in the winter as they used to be…)

whyulittle

Yep, male Blackcap.

calum

Thanks

Alun

Watch out for the female too, they have a 'caramel' coloured cap, otherwise the same.

V_Moth

They also love apples (cut in half and spiked on branches).

calum

Hmm, we have an apple tree down the other end of our garden, hope he doesn't spot it when it starts fruiting this year!

Desmo

calum wrote: »

Hmm, we have an apple tree down the other end of our garden, hope he doesn't spot it when it starts fruiting this year!

The winter blackcaps usually appear after apples have been harvested. They are just winter visitors. We do have breeding blackcaps as well but not so much in gardens.

Bsal

I had a male Blackcap in the garden a few times today, he was eating olives off the olive tree Im going to put some apple down there now for him.

honeybunny1984

we often spot the odd pair flitting about the garden too. there seem to be more of them about now than ever! we even saw a little hen in the tree's whilst out walking the dogs earlier...the hen is so much prettier than the male with her lovely chestnutty brown cap( well, i think so anyways )

Clap your handsay yeah

We have 2 male blackcaps ourselves hanging around the garden pretty much all the time and one of them is the most aggressive birds I've ever seen, diving at all the tits and finches until he's the only one left! He even drives off flocks of goldfinches and I've had to go out and chase him away so the others can feed, while the other one just sits on the fence

gracielooks

Saw my first one in the back garden on Sunday. What a delight!