Willow Warbler and Common Tern new for the year

Two necessarily brief vists this weekend, each producing a yeartick, Willow Warbler on Saturday, two at the basin and one in the ecology park, all singing, and Common Tern on Sunday, a singleton flying east down the Thames. In terms of variety Saturday had the edge over Sunday, three Wheatears on the Pura Foods peninsula was a personal best count of this eagerly anticipated species, a pair of Blackcaps and one each of Chiffchaff made up the rest of the migrant interest. Wildfowl included a good April count of ten Shelduck, a single male Common Teal and 30 Tufted duck including the Portuguese red-saddled male. Two Song Thrushes were singing, both out in the open which is unusual for this site, and a third bird in the ecology park was behaving as if it had young nearby. The Sunday visit yielded a flock of six Stock Doves feeding on the peninsula, my best "on the deck" count.Wildfowl included four Shelduck, three Common Teal and 37 Tufted Duck but neither of the Portuguese birds were present today. I could only find a single Common Sandpiper and it seems that the excellent winter counts have come to an end. A single Willow Warbler and three Blackcaps made up the warbler count today and other passerines included a pair of Linnets and a persistent singing Chaffinch in the ecology park.