Winter Whitethroat ringed in Devon

After our brief mention of a winter Blackcap movement, this recent capture is far more bizarre!

On 17 January Jon Avon was ringing in his Devon garden and found this Whitethroat in his net! We're not sure of the age of the bird, but the colour of the eye and tail both suggest it might be a first-winter bird.


Amazingly, despite the recent Arctic conditions the bird was in really good condition, weighing in at 12.9g which is what you'd expect a Whitethroat to weigh in autumn.


Thanks to Jon for the photos and to find out what our migrants should be doing in the winter, check the blog here.