First Common Tern, House Martin and Common Whitethroat of the year

A very early start this morning in an attempt to cover the patch completely before any dogwalkers appeared. Two Willow Warblers were singing in the copse at the basin and a female Blackcap was feeding in the canopy along with another warbler which, after a frustrating few minutes of hide and seek, turned into the first Common Whitethroat of the year, a Chiffchaff sang briefly from the northern scrub and a Song Thrush was singing from one of the gardens. At the ecology park at least two more Common Whitethroats and a Reed Warbler were singing along with another Song Thrush and throughout the patch at least five Blackcaps were in song; the only other notable vocalist was a Reed Bunting singing intermittently from the pylon reedbed. At least eight Sand Martin were present this morning and the first House Martin of the year was busily feeding over Bow Creek before moving off mid-morning. A pair of Kestrels were displaying over the north dide of the ecology park and were showing a lot of interest in a gasometer about half a mile north-west of the patch, the only other raptor seen was a Peregrine. Back at the Thames four very vocal Common Terns had arrived and were soon joined by a fifth, the third year tick of the morning. Wildfowl included a Greylag Goose flying south, four Shelduck including two males behaving as if they have mates on eggs nearby, a pair of Common Teal and 11 Tufted Duck. On the wader front a Little Ringed Plover was on the Pura Foods peninsula, two Oystercatchers were on the Millennium Dome flats and four Common Sandpipers were in the high tide roost. Other notables today included two each of Stock Dove and Jay and a single migrant Meadow Pipit flying south.