The Blackcap

 ..The Blackcap..

The Blackcap can be heard singing throughout Corkagh from April onwards but because they tend to remain in the trees and hedgerows they can be hard to spot.

The male and female are quite different.  He has the distinctive black cap from which they get their name while she has a brown cap.

Female

Generally the birds we hear singing in spring have arrived from Southern Europe and Africa to breed here. Their young will return south once Autumn arrives.  In winter we see the arrival of Blackcaps from Central Europe and they remain here till Spring when they return to their homeland to breed.  

Its in Winter that you are most likely to have Blackcaps in your garden, particularly if you have Ivy, as they will feed on Ivy berries, seeds and fatballs.  Its interesting to note that up until the 1950s seeing a Blackcap in Ireland in Winter would have been very unusual.  

A breeding pair of Blackcaps only stay together for the season.  The male, if he survives, will return to the same nesting area the following year. 

The male will build several lose nests on his territory and the female will choose her mate based on who has the strongest song and best nesting area.  She will choose her favourite nest and finish off its construction.  The Blackcaps normally build their nests low in dense vegetation like Ivy or Gorse.

The Blackcap may only raise one brood during the season, but if weather is good and food plentiful, and if they get a start early enough, they can have two.

At Corkagh, because of the abundance of insects, a pair of Blackcaps need only a small territory which is why we can hear them throughout the park.

When the babies fledge they are fed by the parents for a couple of weeks. They then leave their parents territory and spend the next couple of months feeding on insects and berries. At this stage in their development the males have an orange cap.

Blackcap sharing birdbath with local Sparrows in January

In September, both adults and juveniles begin their journey south towards Spain and Africa where they will overwinter before returning to Corkagh next year.  

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