This winter I visited the RSPB Nene Washes at Eldernell site to see owls and hen harriers- this is the first winter for several years when this place has had a long-staying male hen harrier, and now there are 2 of them on the reserve. In addition, this reserve is a great place to see virtually all species of owl, the most difficult one being little owl, with everything else present and fairly easy to see, and obviously with cranes being a possibility as well.
Although this wasn't the bird I wanted to see the most (not initially, anyway), the best photo I have ever taken at the reserve is a short-eared owl. I observed the owl at a distance for a while one evening, before it crossed the embankment and selected a prominent perch in full view of the embankment, and quite close to it, giving absolutely spectacular views
twitter.com/.../2
I wanted to see long-eared owl the most in the area, and it didn't take that much time to find and get spectacular views of the birds, which were so well hidden they were only visible from one specific spot. The light swamped out some colour intensity, but the image does have a hint of the owl's bright orange irises as well, as well as the large ear tufts
twitter.com/.../1
Tawny owl was even easier- back in its old roosting spot in the woods. This is the first time I have seen an adult as well
twitter.com/.../3
Barn owls were present, but very distant. No little owls were seen
Cranes were even more distant, favourite the area of the North Bank the most
Finally, I got my best images of a male hen harrier when it arrived one golden evening , passing quite close to the embankment
This is a great nature reserve, and I look forward to visiting in the spring. Perhaps I'll see the corncrake at some point
For advice about Birding, Identification,field guides, binoculars, scopes, tripods, etc - put 'Birding Tips' into the search box