On the Crest of a wave

With a slight change in the weather and a few things turning up elsewhere, and I had a few hours to spare. I decided to give EIDB a visit. The last few visits has been fairly mundane with barely a migrant to be seen, so when I arrived to clear skies and a brisk NW wind, it did not look promising. But almost immediately I heard the welcome call of Common Terns, as two birds flew around the dock for about 10 minutes, before moving off. I then watched the Thames for awhile, but it was quiet. The Ecology Park was also quiet with just a Blackcap. Back at the Basin I noticed some bird movement in the NW scrub, the first two birds were Long-tailed Tits, the third a Blackcap, and the fourth a Whitethroat. I then checked the NE scrub, where i found another Whitethroat, neither were singing. A Lesser Whitethroat sang briefly in the NE corner, and was difficult to see. I heard a Willow Warbler singing in the copse, and searching the copse saw a small bird feeding activly in the middle of the woodland. A Firecrest, the first recorded since June 2008. Excellant views were had, and I also had great views of a very bright Willow Warbler. Another circuit of the Basin and a count of 40 Tufted ducks ended the visit. On the way out I checked the copse again, the Firecrest was in the same area at 12.20pm.
Gary A James