For a while now, this little nest box just outside our back door has been home to Mr and Mrs J Wren and their little family. Every day we have watched Mum and Dad going back and forth feeding the little squeaky things inside the box. It's all gone quiet now so the fledglings have gone and we await next year with excitement.

It may sound incredibly trite to say that I feel very privileged to have had this litte family in such close proximity but I don't care. I watched the nest being built, fretted over whether we or the dogs would scare the family away and hoped for a successful clutch. I am so thrilled that this shy little bird allowed us to see a glimpse into its very private life.

It's spurred me on to get more nest boxes - we've had three boxes up for a number of years but this is the first time we've actually seen a family raised.