Vindicated!

I was sure I'd spotted a blackcap in the garden the other day, but it was too far away to be entirely sure - yesterday, though, it made it abundantly clear, a female bird drinking from and then washing in the bird bath (just as well it was that way around, dirty little thing). 

I don't remember ever seeing blackcaps in my younger days and apparently they are now well on the way to being permanent residents in southern Britain. The British people's strange predilection for feeding garden birds has made it possible for what were almost always summer visitors dependent on lots of insects being around to spend the whole year here. In fact, some scientists speculate, the bird is well on the way to separating into two distinct species, one which resides permanently in the UK, and the other continuing to winter in warmer areas such as Spain. I confess I never put out food for the birds (it seems very odd to me for humans to grow food for birds when without human damage to the ecosystem (including growing bird food) there would be plenty to sustain sensible populations of birds in the first place!) but I imagine 'my' blackcap must be eating elsewhere and then dropping by at the Rectory for a wash!