A marathon session

I had intended to get well away from the patch today, London Marathon day usually has me running for the hills but a late night saw me oversleep and consequently head for the patch mid-morning instead of somewhere more bucolic at dawn. At first it seemed a little disappointing, the two Willow Warblers from yesterday had moved on and a thorough search of the Pura Foods peninsula and Orchard Wharf drew a blank on the Wheatear front; then a somewhat surreal ten minutes began, I found a male Tufted Duck wearing a red nasal saddle and I moved around the north side of the basin in an attempt to read any inscription it might have, as I was grilling the tufty I became aware of a Sedge Warbler in full song in the scrub to my right, not only a year tick but a patch lifer, my first Sedge Warbler in 14 years. Bolstered by this unexpected bonus I decided to do another circuit of the ecology park, just as I was about to go in I heard a weak "ca" and on looking up I saw a Rook flying purposely east, my second patch lifer in ten minutes and only the second site record of this unlikely migrant. The rest of the day's haul included two Greylag Geese, four Shelduck, a pair of Teal, 40 Tufted Duck (including the aforementioned bird which was probably "saddled" in either France or Portugal), two Common Sandpipers in the roost, a Stock Dove, at least five singing Blackcaps and single singing Reed Warbler, Common Whitethroat and Chiffchaff.