In Poland, the Kestrel is an uncommon bird during the winter time. It rarely winters in the eastern part of the country; however, the reported numbers of regular wintering cases increase towards the southwest. The aims of this study were: to analyse the wintering area of Kestrels nesting in Poland, to compare distances covered by the birds migrating for the first time in their life to their movements in the following years, and to determine the origin of Kestrels wintering in Poland. The material for the analysis comprised 171 recoveries of the birds ringed in Poland or recorded in Poland but ringed abroad within the years 1931-2001. Out of 48 adult Kestrels ringed or recovered during both migration periods (autumn and spring), the great majority were recorded in Poland; only 2 birds were found as adult ones in France and 1 in Ukraine. We obtained 32 recoveries of Kestrels ringed in Poland as chicks or as individuals in their first year of life and recorded again during their first migration season (autumn-spring). Five of them were recorded outside the country. In Poland, there were reported 94 Kestrels that had been ringed abroad. Those birds came from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine. These data show that mainly Kestrels nesting in the north of the continent migrate across Poland and some of them winter here as well. A great majority of recoveries referred to Kestrels ringed in Finland. These birds also came to Poland from Germany and from the areas located to the southwest of Poland.

So far the expansion of the Blackcap wintering range could not have been confirmed based on the analysis of ringing recovery data. The aims of this work was to define present boundaries of regular wintering area of the Blackcap in Europe and to find out whether the wintering range of the species has expanded over the last decades. A comparison of the Blackcap return rate in different parts of wintering area in subsequent winters was based on the probability distribution analysis. Dates of the Blackcap recoveries in different areas were also compared. Changes in number of winter recoveries from Great Britain as well as from regions to the north and south of the delimited northern boundary of the species regular wintering area were analysed as well.Blackcaps ringed in winter in Scandinavia did not return to this area in the following winters. Percent share of such individuals in Central-Western Europe was low. Birds were recorded in these regions mainly at the beginning of winter. The Blackcap return rate both in Great Britain and in southern Europe was very high; birds were observed there throughout the whole winter. Over the last decades of the XX JD century the numbers of winter recoveries grew to a similar extent in the areas located to the north and south of the northern boundary of the Blackcap regular wintering area. Only in Great Britain this increase was faster. Based on the ringing recovery data analysis it can only be concluded that the regular wintering area of the Blackcap in Europe is most probably limited to the territories of the Mediterranean Sea basin. Most winter recoveries from other parts of Europe are probably only unsuccessful wintering attempts.