Long and short-eared owls

 After my enormously successfull trip to Eldernell yesterday and seeing my plans arranged such that I will pass through the area again a week later, I decided to revisit the Nene Washes. I would love to see the owls again, as well as the cranes. But the bird I wanted to see the most was the short-eared owl. I was unsatisfied with the views I had last time, and decided I needed better. This time, cycling out from March, nothing unusual happened. 

The Nene Washes must be one of the best places for birdwatching in East Anglia. It has a bit of everything- from reintroduced corncrakes in the summer and cuckoos to owls, harriers and cranes in the winter. And I think it originally gained fame as a short-eared owl haunt. 

I got there and with happiness realised that there wasn't anywhere near as much people as there was last time. The long-eared owls did take an effort to find once again, but once I had located one it was immediately obvious in that hedge, even with the unaided eye. Views were not the same as last time, though, although after last time I wasn't even after this owl anymore! 

By the time I was finished with the long-eared owl, it started to get darker, and a short-eared owl flew over the embankment and started to hunt in the washland. I got some out-of-focus photos of it, then watched it fly back until it dropped down somewhere near the embankment.

Slightly disappointed by my photos, I decided to see if I would find it again. I then suddenly noticed that I had a short-eared owl perching within 15 meters of me, sitting right out in the open and staring at me with bright yellow eyes. The views were so amazing that I think I must have taken over 50 images of the bird on its perch. 

That image is one of the best bird photos I have ever taken, right up there along with the bearded vulture last summer and the white-tailed eagle in 2018. And despite the amazing views, I thought that me and a few others were the only people who saw it. 

A barn owl also came out to hunt, staying quite distant in the fields behind the short-eared owl.

I lingered for a while later, hoping to see cranes, but they didn't show up this time. A hen harrier did make an appearance, but the views were much worse than last time. With darkness falling, I left, my head slightly spinning.