I’m lucky if I see one Firecrest each year, as they tend only to be seen in my area during the winter months and can be extremely elusive. So, when one of our expert local birders let me know that he’d seen five (!) in a nearby park, I was optimistic – surely, I could find at least one. Four park visits later, with zero Firecrest sightings, I was beginning to despair but I figured I’d give it just one more try before I gave up. And I’m so glad I did as that one day I saw four Firecrests, two in one area and two on the other side of the park, more than I’ve ever seen in one day before.

Getting good photographs of the Firecrests was another matter. These are tiny birds, and very active, flitting constantly through the vegetation in search of food. I did actually manage images of all four birds, most blurry, two with only partial views of the birds, but one, the one shown above, where you can actually see the whole bird and recognise it. Phew!