An Afternoon at Burwell Fen

17th November 2025

Middle of November now so time for a visit to Burwell to see what is going on with the owls. We positioned ourselves by the old barn, which is now more appropriately called the ex-barn, and started scanning the fen for any activity. Do you ever get that feeling you are being watched?

All very quiet on the bird front, but there were a few Roe Deer around to add a bit of interest.

This stag had been in a few rut battles judging by the state of its antlers.

At that point a Buzzard flopped across the fen and settled on a fence post. Very distant but worth a shot.................

.......................and then decided to have a preen.

About half an hour before dusk a Barn Owl appeared on the other side of a field and started hunting over a very wide area, and then a second appeared covering a different area. By now the light was going so we starting walking back to the car park when one of the owls crossed the river and sat on a fence post, allowing a few shots at very high ISO.

After a rest it flew off and continued hunting.

And as for the Short-eared Owls? There are definitely two birds present but as testified by the few photos that have been taken, they are flying much later than usual and mostly after sunset, so they will have to wait for another day.

Also nice to have a catch-up with Rick Stead.