Sing

Thanks to Flumgummery and Ceridwen for pointing out my error yesterday is mistaking a dead nettle for a stinging one. I was just making sure you were paying attention (cough). :-)

No mistaking them today, the nettles I was ploughing through in search of birds were definitely live. I got a lovely Blackcap though, singing his beautiful song. These birds used to be only summer visitors, wintering in north Africa or southern Europe. But since feeding garden birds has become more popular in the UK, hanging around over winter instead of flying all that way has become a possibility for them.

There is a curious folklore surrounding Blackcaps in Cyprus. It was thought that they were carried to Cyprus on the backs of Storks, possibly because they arrive at the same time.

Incidentally, if you see a bird very similar to this but with a red cap, that is the female.