Fox update

After a relatively quiet period, the level of fox activity in the garden is beginning to increase again. Last night two adult foxes were in the garden (caught on the trail cam), but I've had very few actual sightings. Until tonight when the bold vixen decided to stay around for half an hour. That has to be one of her longest visits, and it was punctuated by encounters with other creatures of the night time garden.

She foraged

She groomed

She encountered a cat

And menaced a hedgehog (it was ok)

She posed for the camera

And tried to sniff the lens

3DShe even kept still so I could create a 3D image

There were three cats in the garden at various times, two of which decided to have a scrap while I was out there. The vixen just watched, unconcerned by the feline jousting. The hedgehog eventually retreated into the shrubs, though the vixen did maintain a possibly unhealthy interest for a little time after that. I'm certain that there was a second hedgehog lurking somewhere. At times I could hear the loud 'puffing' noise that generally indicates a pair. Which brings me neatly to the trail cam video shot last night. It's two main sequences: a pair of hedgehogs, followed by the two foxes.


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Camera note: all today's shots were taken with the Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro lens, and the Canon 430EX flash unit. The flash was malfunctioning for some of the time.

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This Post Has 14 Comments

  1. RobinL

    4 Jul 2009

    What lovely shots. Really like the one with the flowers and the close up is so nice. I can easily see why one would be attracted to the fox. Makes me wonder how people have ruthlessly hunted them for so many years. Even in Canada, I've never seen a wild fox. I'm most envious!

  2. gdare

    4 Jul 2009

    "And tried to sniff the lens"
    She was really that close? That seems she considers you as a member of her domain and you are alowed to stay and make photographs 😆
    Was she afraid of cats or it was other way? It looks as your cat doesn`t like her around 😀

  3. SittingFox

    4 Jul 2009

    Isn't she the vulpine model! :queen: I love the shot of her and the cat – really shows how similar in size they are. Glad things didn't get out of hand though; I'm seeing far too many free-ranging cats around here right now 🙁

    And that hedgehog is bigger than her head! :eyes:

    @Robin – I've only ever seen two foxes west of the Mississippi, and both were in Waterton. I need to go to Prince Albert NP…

  4. Flying Red Fox Blog

    4 Jul 2009

    Wow great shots especially the 3D one, is that a feature of your camera> 😀

    Theres something magical about a Fox posing with Lavender on a dark background :yes:

  5. Words

    4 Jul 2009

    Robin, thanks. Seeing foxes in England is becoming something of a national pass-time! We have so few large mammals (badgers are the other obsession) and certainly nothing to compare with the bears in Canada. What's surprising is how small they really are. The photos are deceptive as I try to get down low to photograph them.

  6. Ukwildlife

    4 Jul 2009

    fantastic photos – the close up is brilliant 🙂

  7. Words

    4 Jul 2009

    Mark, the two hedgehogs I see are huge… but quite shy. I really like the shots with lavender. Just a small splash of colour to set her off. There's nothing particularly special needed for the 3D shots. There's a website here that explains a bit about how to do them, but what I did was take two frames, the second one very slightly to the right of the first (just a few inches). I then put the first shot in photoshop and increase the canvas width just over double (to allow a small gap between the images). You can anchor the canvas size so that the extra width just goes to the right. I then paste the second shot in and line it up on the right. Reduce the size and that's it. It took a bit of figuring out, but really it's just two images side by side.

  8. Words

    4 Jul 2009

    Darko, yes she was that close. I was using the macro lens and she cam up to about where your computer screen will be in front of you. When she first turned up last night I sat down on the grass and that's when she settled for the scratch. I was about 15 feet away then. She was ok with the cats (she mainly ignored them). They come from neighbouring gardens so I think they must see quite a lot of each other.

  9. Words

    4 Jul 2009

    Adele, she was great last night. Most visits have been quite brief (or late) but she happily wandered around. The two black cats tended to stay at the back of the garden out of the way, but a white one did appear at the front (mewling behind a gate) so I think there were more concerned about their own territorial games. Interesting to watch, and I'm glad I didn't have to intervene.

  10. Words

    4 Jul 2009

    Thanks Neil!

  11. annoushkiss

    4 Jul 2009

    You've got such a model! :up: :up: :up: and used this great opportunity 100 per cent! The last two photos are amazing, and the 3D as well.

  12. Words

    4 Jul 2009

    Anna thanks. I've re-edited the 3D image to make it a bit larger.

  13. anonymous

    4 Jul 2010

    Anonymous writes:

    Superb photos, loved 3D image was brilliant!

  14. Words

    4 Jul 2010

    Anon, thanks. The 3D shot was fun to do. 🙂

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