AUTUMN IS A GREAT TIME TO CATCH UP WITH OUR SMALLEST BIRD

EMBRACING nature in all its glories does wonders for mental and physical wellbeing.

- Stuart Winter

Be it immersing yourself in the therapeutic atmosphere of a forest cloaked in greenness or absorbing the exuberance of a gurgling stream, venturing outdoors is good for body and soul.

Experiencing the wonders of bird migration across big skies or on windswept headlands also dispenses copious doses of wild healing.

For me, autumn is the time for annual eyesight and hearing checks by seeking out our smallest bird - the goldcrest.

Weighing little more than a 20p piece and easily wrapped inside a sycamore leaf, the diminutive goldcrest's frenetic feeding sorties push senses to the edge.