I casually wondered what pine trees look like when there's no snow or decorations on them - just the tree itself, stripped of all those festive associations we pile onto them every December. So I grabbed my camera and got close. Really close.

Any day now, their chicks would appear. I was determined to be there when they did.

The overnight downpour had turned everything to mud. Their usual sanctuary was a sodden mess...

From hidden eggs to hungry hatchlings - witnessing the daily devotion of Eurasian Coot parents in springtime