Blackbird photographed at Rue des Longs Camps on 16/12/2007 Photo: © Paul Hillion (visit site)

The Blackbird is one of the commonest and most widespread species in the Bailiwick and is a familiar sight in gardens, woods, parks and farmland. It has always been common; Smith and Dobson describe it as an extremely common resident. Dobson reports sightings of migrant birds from Alderney by W. Eagle Clark in September 1898 and acknowledges that "it would seem that a certain amount of migration does pass through Island, in autumn at least". Ringing has now proven that migrant Blackbirds move through the island between late September and November and that it is a common passage migrant as well as a common resident.

In the 1989-91 breeding bird survey, Blackbirds were recorded from every square in Guernsey and Herm. The situation is similar for Sark and Alderney. (Any particular habitat preference?) This probably needs expanding! Resident birds are largely sedentary and ringing has shown that they tend to remain within the vicinity of their breeding area in autumn and winter.

In autumn, many of the larger, darker continental Blackbirds pass through the islands. Ringing has shown that peak passage occurs in mid to late October (include Fougeraie data) and that the birds concerned come from a large area from Denmark through the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France. The ringing dates of birds ringed abroad span from August to November, suggesting a wide period of passage. Most birds passing through the islands in autumn carry on and there are many winter recoveries in France, mainly in Brittany and Normandy although there have been two recoveries further south. The majority of winter recoveries abroad (Dec to Feb) come from France (9) but there are also recoveries from Belgium (1), England (1) and the Netherlands (1). Some birds spend the winter in the Channel Islands and there have been 3 inter-island recoveries of birds ringed in autumn and recovered in winter on one of the other islands (Check out local recoveries). Birds ringed in the Bailiwick in winter have been found on passage in France (2), the Netherlands (1) and Denmark (1) again showing the north-east / south-west movement. Three birds ringed in winter have been recovered in following winters in France (1) and England (2) and it seems that birds do not necessarily return in subsequent winters.

There have been several spring (March to May) recoveries of birds ringed in the islands on autumn passage. Recoveries have come from north-west France (2), Belgium (3), the Netherlands (4) and Germany (2), showing the birds returning to their breeding areas. At least some of these birds breed in Germany and Belgium as there have been 5 recoveries of birds there in the breeding season and also 3 recoveries of birds ringed in the breeding season in Belgium and found in the islands in autumn. Some birds probably have come from further north, recoveries of 3 birds from Denmark during passage periods probably indicate Scandinavian origin, although this has yet to be proven.

There seems to be little passage of continental blackbirds through the islands in spring and birds which have passed through the islands in autumn move to France during the winter and then return along the north French coast, rather than through the Bailiwick.