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February is the best time to see garden birds, says Val

- Val Bourne

THE best month for seeing birds in my garden is February. I normally see a treecreeper – a brown bird that is easily spotted as it only ever moves up trees, not down.

Known to love the craggy bark of the Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), my personal tree-creeper climbs stone walls instead, usually in a sheltered part of the garden behind a large oil tank. I may have only one or two sightings per year of this resident brown bird as it prises out insects with its curved beak, but it usually coincides with a mini invasion of small birds that may include blackcaps, marsh tits and tiny goldcrests. Last year I also spotted the brighter firecrest searching for insects in a flowering currant.