Messingham Visit And Unseasonal Surprise.....

Coal Tit.

Record shot of Mealie Redpoll.

Mute Swans.

A change of scenery today and a visit to my favourite reserve at Messingham saw some great sightings over the four hours i was on site.After getting the kit together and getting wrapped up i walked down to the edge of Grebe Lake to scan for anything of interest.No Otters or Long-eared Owls today unfortunately,but the first of 4 Willow Tit were seen and a return visit later saw an adult female Marsh Harrier flying west over here....As i continued around the reserve a came upon a nice sized flock of at least 65 Lesser Redpoll,with at least 20 Siskin mixed in with them.At least 5 Mealie Redpoll were seen with this flock,but viewing conditions were difficult due to the light.A return visit in better conditions will be needed to confirm how many are present in this flock properly.On the main lake there were some nice birds to be seen and continuing on from yesterdays visit to Tophill Low,there were 4 Pintail(2 Drakes and 2 females) and the 4 female/imm Scaup which have been present for several weeks now.Highlight of the day here,came in the form of an unseasonal Chiffchaff watched in bushes and reeds in front of the hide a nice surprise considering the poor weather we have been experiencing.The remainder of the visit was taken up by more views of Siskin and Redpolls.A nice few hours here apart from the dull conditions.