Part of the land management at Wicken Fen is undertaken by herds of wild living Konik ponies and Highland cattle - they aren't technically 'wild animals' because they are descended from human-managed breeding herds. They are feral animals, but they live wild, outdoors all year, grazing as they wish, with no supplementary feeding. There is veterinary care if seriously indicated, and compliance with UK regulations such as TB testing for cattle. The different grazing styles of the two species manage the different kinds of fenland vegetation, and create different habitats for birds, insects, etc.
On my first day's visit to the fen, the ponies were far away, at the extreme limit of both my binoculars and my camera's zoom:
You can see the accompanying birds - some feed on larvae that hatch in the horses' dung, others directly pick insects from the horses' hair: a benefit to both creatures. In the nesting season horse hair is also gathered by the birds.
Later in the week, by delightful chance (the ponies being in a nearer location, and a ranger happening to be there, who invited me to accompany him among the horses) I was able to get much closer, to both horses and starlings!
The pony images that follow in subsequent posts are all from this day of close encounter.
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