Your Questions

Send all your birding questions to birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk and our experts will give you the answers

Bird-table Blackcap? Q

On Wednesday 1 March, this bird appeared on one of the bird tables in our feeding area at Bowling Park Primary School, in Bradford. It stayed for quite a long time – feeding and then disappearing into a nearby shrub. It looked to me like a male Blackcap, but could it be, so early in the year? Apologies that the photo isn’t brilliant but it was taken at a distance and through a window. Thank you.

Fran Andrews

A

You are absolutely right in your identification of your bird table feeder as a male Blackcap (the grey and greybrown plumage and black cap make it pretty unmistakable). The Blackcap is one of the ‘tougher’ and more resilient of our warbler species, and its more generalist diet (not strictly insects and the like, unlike some other warblers) means it is able to survive our winters. With climate change, those winters are becoming increasingly mild, and more and more Blackcaps are overwintering in country (with perhaps 3,000 or more each winter). Ringing studies have shown that a significant proportion of these birds come from central Europe, especially southern Germany. It is even speculated that central European birds which winter in the UK could eventually diverge enough from their Spain wintering neighbours to become separate species!

Mystery feather Q

I found this feather while on a woodland walk in March. I would be grateful for your help in identifying which species this feather belongs to. With thanks.

Sally Mitchell

A

This feather, which is about a foot long, appears to be the primary feather of a large, or at least medium-sized, gull. The white subterminal ‘window’ extensive amount of dark grey, almost black colouring in the main part of the feather with paler grey towards the quill end suggests a Common Gull.

Black-headed garden visitor Q

I am trying to identify a bird seen on the feeder in my garden. It’s head was entirely black, including its beak, with a very yellow belly. It’s wings appeared black with a lighter flash on the underside. It was eating the fat balls hanging from the feeder. It seemed about the size of a great tit but no white cheeks or black stripe down the middle of the belly. The feathers at the back of neck and head appeared very ruffled as if it maybe moulting. Any ideas what it might be?

Sarah Hurn

A

Without photographs, this is a bit of a challenge. But if it was the size of a Great Tit, and presumably the same shape as a Great Tit and behaved like a Great Tit, it was perhaps a partially melanistic Great Tit. That is a bird with a slight abnormality of its feather pigmentation which makes eg. the white cheek feathers black. If you see it again and are able to take a photo, please send it to us.