TL:DR – Information about and photos of local Short-eared Owls.
I’ve discussed the Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus, previously. Beautiful bird that occasionally overwinters in the UK, having spent the summer months in Iceland, Russia, or Scandinavia.
We are lucky to see them hunting on the fens sometimes. These photos were taken in the hour before sunset at NT Burwell Fen. There were three shorties hunting.
We usually anticipate their arrival in October, November, but they can sometimes arrive earlier and will stay until early April. There were half a dozen at Burwell a couple of years ago and one of them with damage to its wing (it could still fly) stayed through the summer months.
Shorties will hunt over fens, grasslands, marshes, and other open habitats. In my experience, the best time to catch sight of them hunting is in the hour before sunset, but others report seeing them at any time during the day when the owls hunt small mammals such as voles, mice, and shrews.
The owl has a distinctive, buoyant, and “floppy” flight style, they usually follow a “flap-flap-glide” flight pattern, and will often perch on fence posts or bushes, looking out for moving prey. They will often perch quite close to birdwatchers and photographers.
Also see on the same trip to Burwell Fen – Peregrine (in flight over the Wicken side), several Common Kestrel, Barn Owl, and Common Buzzard.