As with quite a lot of my early photos, they are first encounters with these animals. This lovely Goldcrest was shot while walking along the wintry hedgerows parallel to Skeleton Woods (Wymondley Wood, official name).

I noticed something very small flitting along from one branch to another, making it exceedingly difficult to snap, though in the above shot, this beauty posed long enough for me to get a non-blurry photo.

It wasn’t until I got home and did a little homework that I discovered what it was, and unsurprisingly learned that it is Britain’s smallest bird.

I love the English countryside and am fortunate to live on the doorstep of such scenes. I really do need to invest in a good pair of wellies though!

Come on lads, let’s get home, the sky’s beginning to bruise, night must fall and we shall be forced to camp. (Withnail and I)

I call this The Haunted Tree, though I doubt it has any sinister history; more likely I was in the right place at the wrong time. (weather turning bad) In fact, it hailed 20 seconds after taking the shot and I took shelter close by in a small church that was being renovated.

After the heavens opened up, it promptly stopped. If you’re ever passing though Great Wymondley, pop by St Mary the Virgin Church – they had a selection of homemade jams on sale and I made a donation to the church’s restoration.

How many worms can a robin eat until it can’t eat any more?

Well, I don’t have the answer for you, but it’s certainly several! This robin kept flitting back and forth while I was doing some digging where I volunteer, and by the end of it, it was unable to stomach any more.

The final picture reminds me of the scene in Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, where Mr Creosote is asked for one final ‘Waffer thin mint’. This robin sat there with the tail wriggling out of its beak but I don’t think there was any more room for it to fit in! Kinda like how I feel after an all-you-can-eat chinese buffet.