Red squirrels aren't easy to find.
They're often in the news, but I'd never been fortunate enough to spot one in the wild - until a recent trip north of the border.
Our native squirrel has been part of the Scottish landscape for thousands of years but, as we're often told, is under serious threat from its grey cousin - which brings disease and competition for food.
So, watching a splendid male red feasting on nuts outside a cafe on the outskirts of Aviemore was certainly worth the wait.
Only a large window separated us as I tucked into a sausage roll and cappucino, while Bob (naturally) performed complex acrobatics in order to pick out the choicest delicacies from the bird feeder he was hanging from.
Although I was surrounded by slurping tea drinkers and hardcore cake eaters, I felt the unmistakable thrill I always do when nature slides sideways into everyday life.
Only an estimated 140,000 reds remain in the UK, with just 10 per cent of those in England.
Let's hope the sterling work being done to protect them in Scotland and their last English and Welsh bastions is finally successful.
The red squirrel deserves to come off the red list.
To find more gorgeous prints like the one above, browse RSPB Images.