The female blackcap actually ended up in our garden about 2 hours after I first saw it. It fed on our winter flowering jasmine for about 20 minutes before moving on.

Just been out for a quick walk this morning. Had really good views of a Merlin in the field to the west side of Newton road. It was initially on a fence post but it was quickly moved on by a crow. It then perched up on a lump of earth in the field whereby I managed to watch it for quite a while. Then to top this off as I walked back down Heath lane a female blackcap landed in a tree in one of the front gardens. Very unusual for this time of year!! Cheers Nick