Nuthatch, first for EIDB

June is usually considered the quietest month for birding in London. A time for recharging the batteries after rushing around trying to connect with migrants and a time for checking on breeding birds. The latter was the option today and some decent weather was a bonus. A check on the mud in front of the O2 revealed an adult Mediterranean Gull, a good bird for this area. The dock held 9 Shelducks, 3 Common Terns and  the usual waterfowl. Reed Warblers were feeding young as were a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, who have nested nearby. I decided to check the copse to see if any young birds were present, and immediately saw something strange, a bird was crawling down a branch head-first. A Nuthatch, the first to be recorded at the site and my 126th species here. I saw the bird very well, it was quite dull in colour so I presume a young bird. I think the nearest breeding area for the Nuthatch is across the Thames at Oxlees Wood, so it may have come from there. I phoned John Archer who also saw the bird, John also saw a 2nd Summer Yellow-legged Gull on the O2 mud, though the Med Gull had gone. The O2 mud has quite a turnover of Gulls  so is always worth a look. To round things off I recorded 4 House Martins on Bow Creek, and Insect interest was 2 Brimstones a Red Admiral and a Emperor Dragonfly. Who said June was quiet.