Abstract

In the past 50 years, Blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla have appeared more regularly in the UK during the winter months. Since 1988, more than 480 individuals have been trapped and ringed between mid October and the end of March at Eskmeals, southeast Cumbria. Most birds were ringed at the site in October or November. Some of the birds were retrapped later in the same winter, or in subsequent winters, but none were trapped locally during the breeding season. IntroductionThe Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla is one of the most widespread and abundant breeding birds in Europe (Keller et al. 2020), with a distribution spanning from the Mediterranean to the mid-Boreal zone in Arctic Fennoscandia. In northern and central Europe, the species has historically been a migrant breeder. Blackcaps were occasionally recorded in winter in Britain as far back as the early nineteenth century (Yarrell 1839), but it is only in recent decades that the number of birds detected wintering in central and northern Europe, particularly Britain, has increased. Many wintering birds are found in suburban and urban areas, including gardens where food is provided for garden-feeding birds (Leach 1981).A special survey conducted over the winter of 1978/79 (Leach 1981) found at least 1,714 Blackcaps in Britain. These were heavily concentrated in the southwestern counties of England. Nationally, 95% were seen in gardens and 86% were below 92 m asl.