First Whitethroat of year on patch

A beautiful bright day with a strong N/E wind.  No cloud, therefore, any passage migrants would have overflown at height.
An early morning walk from my home in Watton to the nearby village of Merton produced 7+ Blackcaps in song, a couple of Chiffchaffs, and a single Whitethroat in a roadside hedge which was very much a skulker uttering warning calls at me from within cover.  No song was given, I suspect this is a recent arrival.
A pair of Mistle Thrushes, several Blackbirds (including 3 singing males), and 3 singing Song Thrushes were all noted.
Back in my garden, good numbers of Starlings seen (all males) probed the lawn for Leatherjackets, the female birds would be tending to young in the nest.
One of my two pairs of Blackbirds were seen collecting slightly larger prey items from the lawn now, clearly indicating the young in the nest are growing nicely.

Starling (male) in garden 20th April

Starlings are wonderfully beautiful birds and are offer great opportunities to observe their quality behaviour.   Not only is their iridescent plumage stunning but the mimicry in the song has incredible range.  In my garden this year Starlings have mimicked Tawny Owl (female), Fieldfare, Blackbird, Buzzard, Curlew, Oystercatcher, and emergency vehicle sirens.