I spent the day at home today and so had the chance to put a net up in the garden. The usual suspects were present, blue tit, great tit, coal tit and great spotted woodpecker, but also a couple of marsh tits. Marsh tits are regular visitors to my garden in the winter and over the last 12 years I have ringed nine new birds in my garden. I did not have my binoculars handy and therefore could not see whether these birds had been ringed before, but I will keep an eye out.
A steady trickle of blue tits were passing through the garden, when a juvenile male blackcap turned up in the net. I had glimpsed a male blackcap earlier in the day in another part of the estate and suspect that this is the same bird.
Juvenile Male Blackcap |
This bird was in immaculate condition, the wing and tail feathers were very fresh and it was in good condition, having a fat score of 1 and a muscle score of 2.
Juvenile Male Blackcap |
My immediate impression was that this bird was a winter visitor that had just arrived, but given that there is still a scattering of migrants present in the UK, such as subalpine warbler in Cornwall, a few dusky warblers and chiffchaffs, it could just be a late summer migrant. The next few months will determine that..
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