Country diary: The tiniest contender for the king of birds | Jim Perrin

Radnor Forest, Powys: The Latin name for goldcrests hints at their lofty status, which is confirmed simply by watching themThe very big and the very small? My neck aches as I crane upwards to view a mighty Douglas fir by the path to the Water-break-its-neck waterfall. Meanwhile, small birds whirr continually across my peripheral vision. The air is filled with wheezy calls: tsee-tsee, tsee-tsee. In dull late-autumn light their crests gleam brightly - a dynasty of goldcrests.The golden-crested wren, king of the birds, the smallest European bird - is one of the few blessings that this conifer plantation has brought to these relatively unspoiled hills of Radnorshire. Sixty years ago, goldcrests bred here only in scattered pairs. Now, particularly in the Douglas firs on the southern flanks of Radnor Forest, but also in places like the stand of Scots pine by the pool on The Begwns above Painscastle, they've become numerous and characteristic. Semi-migratory, their hill population is augmented by winter visitors from the continent, and depleted by partial relocation to lower-lying regions. Continue reading...