Have you seen a firecrest locally? Julie May has been telling me of her great excitement at seeing one of these rare birds in her own front garden – and she took a photo to prove it!

She said: “I heard a bird singing right next to me while getting out of the car on my drive. I couldn’t believe it when I saw this little beauty! It was close yet didn’t appear to be afraid of me.”

Julie hurried to take a photo on her phone and was amazed when the little bird turned around to look at her. “It was as if it wanted to give me a good shot. It’s a pity it wasn’t with a better camera, but you can’t have everything!”

Julie said she is not someone who goes out of their way to bird watch but nevertheless always carries a camera. “I'm always watching birds in the garden as we get loads of different species living where we are – but I’ve never seen a rare firecrest.”

Julie lives in west Woking – in the area bordering Knaphill and St John’s. I’d love to hear if anyone else has seen one there, or indeed anywhere else in our area.

A firecrest is small, 9cm (3.5in) in length – slightly bigger than a goldcrest but smaller than a wren – with bronze “shoulders”, prominent black and white head stripes and a distinctive crest which is yellow in females and orange in males. Julie commented: “You can see why it’s called a Firecrest!”

It used to be only a visitor to the Britain Isles, but was recorded breeding here for the first time in Hampshire in 1962. Since then it has extended its breeding range north through much of southern, central and eastern England and into Wales.

Children at several primary schools in and around Woking have been watching an uplifting Easter drama during school assemblies thanks to a team from Engage Woking Schools, a Christian charity working supporting local primary and secondary schools.

A recording of the drama is available on Engage’s YouTube channel (@engagewoking) so other local schools can access and show it, and so it can be seen by the public.

Bronwen Hall, primary schools worker with Engage, said: “Our drama focuses on three people in the Easter story of Jesus’s death and resurrection, and how Jesus set them free from all the fear and sadness they were feeling.

“When we feel sad, it’s sometimes because we feel lonely, and no one loves us. When we’re afraid we don’t think we’re strong enough to face all the things going on around us. So it makes a huge difference to know there’s someone really strong who loves us and looks after us – and that’s Jesus.”

Engage Woking Schools produces a drama for local primary schools three times a year, at Christmas, Easter and Harvest. It also visits primary schools for storytelling sessions throughout the school year and supports students and staff in local secondary schools and Woking College.

Bronwen added: “We are looking for people to join our schools assembly team, so would love to hear from anyone who has a passion for taking the gospel into schools through drama. If so please call 01483 901891 or email [email protected].”

For full details of all the work done by the charity in primary and secondary schools visit engagewoking.org.