Hen harriers formerly nested in the Fens and Broads, the last occasion in Norfolk being at Horsey in 1861. In Suffolk there is convincing evidence of attempted nesting at Tuddenham in 1929. Hen harriers rarely fly in wet weather, but in dry conditions the birds spend much of the day on the wing. Hunting begins at daybreaks, searching the same ground each day. Between hunting forays I have seen them perched on fence posts and in dead trees.
Food is mainly small mammals, together with birds.
Mammals taken are chiefly mice, voles and rabbits. Towards sunset hen harriers occupy communal roosts the largest site known locally is in Broadland. Here, against the lingering light of a winter afternoon, I have often watched, fascinated, as the darkly silhouetted harriers glide in just above the reeds. One and then another will hesitate in flight before suddenly dropping out of sight into tall cover. Night after night these splendid birds sit it out through the long hours of darkness in their roofless beds.