Six Blackcap in
the garden today (4♂
& 2♀),
had a brief word with Lew and we assume that these are wintering birds from
further west moving through and they were feeding mainly on apples and doing a
fair bit of flycatching in the sunshine.
This evening a Jay
visited the bird table briefly and the year’s first (for me) House Martin
over Marymead, a Goldcrest singing
nearby and a Kestrel in the meadow.
Two visits to Lollingdon hill today did not produce much,
Two Wheatear was about it and they
were down on one of the tracks probably in the shelter from the wind that was
blowing in to the face of the hill. A couple of Buzzard and Red Kite
around, three Swallow and two Chiffchaff.
Cholsey marsh was rather quiet also; five Chiffchaff in song and a couple of Reed Bunting also two Swallow feeding along the river and two
Swallows over Cholsey hill.
Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock butterflies all seen today.
Hedgehog out and about again clearing up under the bird feeders.
Hedgehog out and about again clearing up under the bird feeders.
A ringer in the SW has had an influx of Blackcaps in the garden too (as have others), but one was aretrap from last summer - so looks like migrants are also coming to gardens now.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if summer migrants are attracted to gardens by the winterers, and then finding food. Today I saw a small flock of about 7 Willow Warblers feeding together on the ground, suggesting there's very little insect food around yet. So maybe the summer Blackcaps are arriving, getting desperate, and so taking their cue from wintering birds?