I received an email today from William Hesketh informing me of his sighting of two swallows passing over Smawthorne Marsh, Castleford on 11th November which is a very late record. Not sure what the latest date for swallow sightings in the district is, but this must be one of the latest.
Wakefield Naturalists' Society | nature club Wakefield
Wakefield's oldest established nature club
Good morning
How usual is it to see over-wintering blackcaps in our area?
A male visited my garden in Glasshoughton on Sunday 31st January and briefly fed on pyracantha berries.
Yours
Tim Box
Thanks for your comment on the Wakefield Naturalists’ website regarding the blackcap. Blackcaps are primarily summer visitors to the UK having spent the winter in Africa and they are one of the first spring migrants to arrive, usually around the first week of April. However, small numbers do overwinter in the UK, more so these days with the milder winters, and they do visit gardens. During the summer they feed on insects but in the winter time, they feed on berries and tiny seeds, so the pyracantha is ideal along with things like berberis and seeds beneath bird feeders. Sometimes they are faithful to an area and will return regularly (there’s one coming to a garden in Ossett on a daily basis) but often they are just passing through as they move around the countryside.
Thanks for submitting the record and I hope he comes back as it is a lovely looking warbler. He’s probably regretting not going back to Africa just now