Achvaneran, Scottish Highlands At the feeding station the birds were centimetres from my feet, unconcerned, while the trail camera picked out our night visitors

One of our three wildlife feeding stations in the garden is at the end of the house, where it has shelter from one wall and from four fruit trees. I call it “the sanctuary”. There are seven feeders hanging from the fruit trees, with a variety of food.

At dusk, on the ground below the trees and on a flat-topped tree stump, I put small piles of peanuts and quartered apples to attract mammals – our night visitors.

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A convenient window means that during the day I spend far too much time watching wildlife, using the house as a hide.

At night the trail camera takes over. It is powered by small batteries and triggered by movement. Video clips are taken automatically and these are stored on a memory card, which I plug into the computer the next day to see what has happened during the night.

In the past month this camera has recorded several nocturnal visitors including badgers, roe deer and feral cats, as well as a true wildcat.

Observing the sanctuary by day and filming it by night means there is a good opportunity of noticing unusual behaviour. Such has been the case with a pair of delightful treecreepers who have been there all winter.

When they first arrived these birds (of the Certhia genus) made compelling watching as they moved, almost mouse-like, up the bark of the fruit trees, feeding on insects. Increasingly, though, they began feeding on the ground, which I’d never seen before. I couldn’t tell if they were eating insects or seeds off the grass.

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Then, last week, as I was filling up the feeders I realised both birds were feeding near my feet. I stood still until they were only centimetres from my feet and to my delighted surprise they did not fly off when I moved.

I felt privileged to have had so close a view of their long, thin, curved beaks, the stiff tail feathers that help them climb trees, and the vivid white underparts, which were visible as one turned, unconcerned, to look at me.