Laughton and MSQ....

A trip out this morning,firstly to Laughton Forest to look for any Redpoll flocks,resulted in me drawing a blank here,only seeing 1 Redpoll and a nice Nuthatch,i then made my way to MSQ where things were a little more productive.I managed to find the Redpoll flock that has been hanging around the reserve with at least 70 birds located and managed to get some fairly close views,picking out at least 7 Mealies in the flock,with one cracking male coming down to drink at the lakeside below the Birch and Alder's they were feeding in giving superb views,but i couldn't find any frosty plumaged birds that looked like Arctic's,what a shame!,there must be some hiding in the local woodlands somewhere!.Other birds seen around the reserve included a single Green Woodie and a flock of 20 Siskin associating with the Redpoll flock.The only other bird of note observed today was a stunning pale morph Common Buzzard seen perched on a roadside hedgerow on the way to Laughton.A good few hours!.