Blackcaps pick UK over Mediterranean for winter

SOME Scots might be heading to the Mediterranean for its winter sunshine, but more and more blackcaps are doing the opposite.

Historically, blackcaps have bred in the UK and then returned to the Mediterranean during the winter.

Now, scientists have discovered that a growing number of the robin-sized birds are not only staying in the UK for the winter but are being joined by birds that are flying in from Spain in the west to Poland in the east.

The findings were unveiled by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the University of Oxford, and the Max Planck Institute in Munich.

Over four years, volunteers fitted 600 blackcaps wintering in the UK with coloured leg rings, allowing researchers to track sightings of the birds as they returned to their breeding grounds.

Another 30 blackcaps were fitted with tiny tracking devices that gave more detailed information about the birds’ routes.

Britain’s warmer winters and a rise in the number of garden bird feeders are believed to be contributing to the trend.

Rob Jaques, BTO Garden BirdWatch supporter development officer, said: “When these wintering blackcaps first arrive in the UK, they feed in the wider countryside, only moving into gardens as the winter deepens.

“Our network of BTO Garden BirdWatchers – who keep a weekly record of the birds and other wildlife using their gardens – are well-placed to collect new information on these visiting birds, but we need to increase the number of gardens being covered, so that we can increase our understanding of this unexpected behaviour.”

Read more stories on Scottish Field’s wildlife pages.

Plus, don’t miss Andy Dobson’s article about hen harriers in the January issue of Scottish Field magazine.