Belgium blackcap by Chris Hughes

You may remember that I controlled a Belgian ringed Blackcap on 8 October 2009 at Bainton. I've just received the details from the Belgians via the BTO. It was ringed on 16 September 2009 at Hamme Sint Anna, Oost-Vlaanderen (which I think might be Belgian for Flanders) and then travelled 354 km roughly northwest where I caught it 22 days later. We've known for some time that continental Blackcaps from the Low Countries, Belgium and Germany overwinter in Britain and this may well have been doing just that. Might have misread the long range weather forecast though given the winter we had over here.

Let's hope it survived and was back on territory in Belgium good and early!