The soft sound of my lightly-trodden footfall was the only noise to break the morning air of this pine woodland near Forest Mill in eastern Clackmannanshire.
The all-encompassing solitude was wonderfully comforting and with the busy world of humanity seemingly a million miles away, it was just me and the silence of the woodland; one man and the natural world.
Then, a twittering in the canopy above and in among the pine-needle adorned branches a flock of emerald-jewelled siskins foraged for pine cone seeds.
The male siskin is a striking bird with his vibrant green plumage and dark cap, whilst the plumage of the female is more washed-out in tone and is heavily streaked.
On watching the siskins bound through the branches, it was hard to imagine that they can exhibit complex social hierarchical behaviour where subordinates regurgitate food for more dominant members of the group.
It is thought this behaviour helps ensure the cohesion of flocks and reduces aggression amongst each other, especially during the breeding season, particularly between males.
I sometimes see another pine specialist – the crossbill - in this same wood, although they are fickle birds and are more abundant in some years than in others.
Crossbills are handsome creatures, especially the males with their vibrant brick-red plumage and deep bills that has led to them sometimes being likened to parrots.
They are also one of our most specialist feeders, with their unique crossed-over bills specially designed to extract the seeds from pine cones.
It is only in recent times that it has come to light that Scotland hosts three distinct types of crossbill, including one that is endemic and found nowhere else in the world.
However, here in the Wee County only the common crossbill occurs.
Crossbills tend to feed high-up in the pines and it is unusual to ever get a good view one, the best giveaway to their presence usually being their rather metallic repetitive call, which reminds me of the sound of clinking wine glasses.
As I turned on my heels and began the return trek back to my starting point, a red squirrel scurried over the ground before quickly climbing a tree.
It stopped to take one final look at me and then disappeared high into the tree canopy.
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