Blackcap, singing male
Sylvia atricapilla
Blackcap · Stodmarsh · 2 May 2026
A male Blackcap singing at Stodmarsh in May, back from Africa or, increasingly, from a British garden. Blackcaps are warblers of woodland and scrub across Europe, and a growing share of the Central European population now winters in Britain on feeders rather than flying south - a genuinely recent shift, tracked by ringers over the last few decades.
The solid black cap belongs to the male; females and young birds wear the same pattern in rufous-brown. The song is rich and warbling enough to have earned it the old nickname "northern nightingale", and it is the loudest thing in a Kent wood in May.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
Every photograph comes with notes on what it is.
Selected
Favourite shots. Filter by subject, or .
Places
Everything, by where it was taken.
Species
Larger catalogue of photos organized by species of animal or plant.
Catalogue
Every photograph, newest first. Narrow it by period, place or species; the three work together.
Updates
Coming soon. Sign up at the bottom of the page for updates.