I often write about the hidden glories of everyday things we do not always appreciate but every once in a while something quite unusual comes our way, and this was the case in a recent unintended trip I made to a fairly wild and deserted moorland and forest.

It was unintended, because I would never have even been there if I had not missed the turning I meant to take!

As Robert Frost wrote:

As I pulled in on a parking area on a bleak moor above Llangollen in Wales, four or five red grouse were picking the way through the short grass. I had never encountered these birds before at such close quarters.

I re-visited the spot a few days and followed the ancient trail of Offa’s Dyke Path marked by slabs of stone to nearby Llandegna Forest.

All was peaceful and I was passed just by the occasional cyclist. Then suddenly a flash of red flew up from the part and perched on a conifer by the side of the track. A crossbill!

This was another first for me. I stood absolutely still as it stayed perching on a branch in the sunshine, feeding every now and then on the cones.

Nature surprises us, and especially, it seemed, in the glory of a missed turning!

I did not expect to see this beautiful coinciding of a common blue tit with a daytime moon when I headed up Haughmond Hill recently.

February is an unpredictable month for nature in the UK but every time we step outside we are entering a world of beautiful biodiversity.

Today was a day to appreciate “ordinary” beauties – like this female chaffinch.

Puffed up and cold she looks, but also resplendent in her colouring.

But the wonder and delight of the day most definitely belonged to the beautiful blue tit, happily hopping around from twig to twig feeding, and completely oblivious of his heavenly backdrop.