Monday 17 April 2017

Barn owl

Along with the short-eared owls at Wicken we have been lucky to see a barn owl or two hunting. They are quite obvious as they fly low above the fen with the early morning light catching their white wings. On one of our first visits, before we were aware of one particular owls hunting area, it came out of some trees and flew straight at us before we even knew it was around.  The last visit we made a few weeks ago we saw presumably this same owl in the same area, but it flew over the bank of a lode before we had chance to take any photos. However, when we started walking along that lode it popped up from the undergrowth and began to hunt in front of us.  We stood for a few minutes as it hovered over a ditch, moving every so often a few feet either way, its eyes never leaving the ground. One failed dive and it rested on a post for a few seconds before trying again. Eventually it went down again, this time stopping out of sight for a while before finally flying off with its prey, disappearing back over the lode. A beautiful 5 minutes with a stunning bird.




















Sunday 16 April 2017

Short-eared owl

Along with some stunning sunrises the other highlight of our walks at Wicken has been the owls. It is well known locally for spotting Short-eared owls over the winter months. They feed during the day and attract lots of birders and photographers.  We did spot one in the distance on one of our visits. We walked slowly towards it as it hunted across the scrub and then stopped for the shot below as it rested on a post (it was still a long way off so I was at the dodgy end of the zoom!) before creeping a bit further on. Sadly a family came along the bank above the owl and it flew off but it was my first sighting and next year we will know where to look.


Friday 14 April 2017

Wicken landscapes

Wicken Fen has become one of our regular walks over the winter and early spring as there is always something to see. This watery reserve catches the low early sun and mists giving warm reflections and frosted reeds. The large expanses of fenland are criss crossed with straight lodes and furrowed fields giving a variety of environments for the thousands of different species that live or visit there. I'm not sure we shall visit quite so often now the weather is warming as being a wetland it is often alive with gnats and mosquitoes who seem to find my husband the tastiest dish on their menu! These are a few photos of the landscape taken over the winter.
















Wednesday 12 April 2017

Stormy sunset

We had some glorious skies the other evening. The clouds bubbled up into a heavy threatening mass but as the sun went down it caught the outer edges and we had a glorious fiery sunset, all topped off by a sliver of crescent moon.