MSQ Bits,26.12.11.

A hopeful visit today to MSQ to look for the reported Great-white Egret,drew a big blank,but a few other birds were seen and partially made up for the dip.Best bird honours went to a Bittern which did a superb flypast from right to left in front of the Duck hide giving excellent views of this cracking heron,before it crashed into the windswept reeds on the other side of the lake from which we were viewing.This is my first Bittern sighting here for a couple of years and my first since one at Far-Ings a few weeks ago.Also in the vicinity of the Bittern was a single drake Goosander which was watched loafing and feeding,giving nice views of this whopper of a duck.It was great to watch it using the 'Snorkelling' behaviour they use to great effect,catching several fish.Earlier i had seen a pair fly in over the lake and do a quick circuit,before heading off in the direction of Twigmoor.The last noteworthy sighting went to a single Green Sandpiper watched feeding in the dried up area down from the car park at the far end of Grebe lake.It initially gave itself away with that distinct 'Peet,weet weet' call and then settled back down to feed again.This species is becoming a more and more common sight in winter due to the milder conditions we are now experiencing at this time of year and many are deciding not to make the long journey to tropical Africa.Today there was also a nice mix of wildfowl feeding on the main lake,with Teal,Wigeon and Gadwall featuring,the Gadwall in good numbers with 86 birds present and Wigeon with 16.Passerines were thin on the ground,with only 2 Siskin seen and a couple of female Bullfinch put on a fine show outside the Duck hide window,superb!.A good few hours in some bright sun for a change.