I’ve mentioned Burwell and Tubney Fens previously, depending how you approach them, they are the back end of the NT Wicken Fen area. The semi-feral Konik ponies (Equus ferus caballus) of Polish descent there along with longhorn cattle (Bos primigenius) and European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), are natural managers of the scrub.
The area is almost perfect roosting and hunting for Short-eared Owls, which have once again returned from Scandinavia to the Fen for their winter break.
There were three to four showing quite well and being harried and harangued by Rooks on the wing high above the fen.
I don’t think any of the clutch of photographers (Homo sapiens phoographiensis) photographing the birds got any particularly close views, but there’s the rest of the winter to try before the birds fly back to their summer breeding grounds next March.
