The heat is rapidly dissipating, and both ends of today have brought unseasonal mists to the Downs. The sun did emerge during the middle of the day which is when I took these shots of some newborn moorhen chicks. 
There was not much else to distinguish the day, but this evening brought a lengthy visit from Shutterbug. He was initially in 'lazy fox' mode, curling up to have a quick rest in a shaded corner just outside our back door.
The real fun started though when he heard the twittering of birds overhead and decided to investigate. The garden is bordered by a high shrubby honeysuckle hedge. It's reasonably densely packed, but certainly not the most secure surface for climbing. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that causes foxes to injure themselves.
I then switched to video mode.
A final shot of him, further up the garden and in the low evening sunshine.
I'm also gathering some cute trail cam of the cubs. I'll be putting some clips together over the next few days.
Camera note: moorhen chicks taken with the Canon 7D and EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. Fox photographed and filmed with the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM lens.
anonymous
31 May 2012Kay O2 writes:
Love it! In the USA we have a close relative of the Moor Hen, which we call a Coot. We also have a kind of fox that climbs trees — the Gray Fox. I didn't expect to see that behavior in a Red Fox. What do you call that color variation in the Red Fox? It doesn't seem to be exactly what we would call a cross fox. In any case, thanks for posting these great pictures & video.
gdare
31 May 2012Somehow he reminds me on our cat, Cleo :cat:
He is one gorgeous fox :up:
Words
31 May 2012Kay, thanks for posting. We also have coots and I sometimes see one at this same pond. We don't have grey foxes, but our red foxes (and red foxes everywhere) do climb trees. Or at least some of them do. I filmed another fox in a tree here a few years ago.
Words
31 May 2012Darko, they are quite cat-like at times. But only when they want to be 😉
Mickeyjoe-Irl
1 Jun 2012Originally posted by Words:
Typical, nice weather right up to the bank holiday weekend. :rolleyes:
Originally posted by Words:
I suppose doing while still half asleep (what a yawn 😀 ) doesn't help.
Words
1 Jun 2012Mick, yes indeed. The weather knows too much. rain forecast for the Bank Holiday, typically!
You're right about him being half asleep. I think we're an early stop off from wherever he beds down for the day. It always feels like he's just making his way out.
SittingFox
2 Jun 2012I have (very rarely) seen foxes curled up on top of hedges. Must make for exceedingly uncomfortable beds.
The final shot of Shutterbug is great, and it's good to see the alien chicks again :alien:
derWandersmann
2 Jun 2012It's not that bad, Adele … the principle is the same as the "bed of nails" fakir trick … the closer together the nails, the less it hurts the skin. We make beds like that for ourselves (or did, before air mattresses and sleeping bags) in the wilderness … it's called a "bough bed", and, skilfully made, it is comfortable and fragrant.
Words
3 Jun 2012Adele, Shutterbug is becoming almost as regular as previous dog foxes (family trait?). He was back again today, but no climbing this time. I do wonder if he'll make it into the trees.
The moorhen chicks always crack me up. Completely absurd looking things. 😀
derWandersmann
3 Jun 2012It might seem so to us, but to a fox's nose? One wonders. And I suspect they might not fancy being tickled by crawly things that have taken up residence within it. Also, in the warm weather, it's probably too warm, with all the chemical things going on in there.
Words
3 Jun 2012dW, that's interesting and I can begin to see how it might work. I am surprised though that the foxes haven't yet discovered our leaf mould heap. Now that is a very comfortable spot for a fox to take a nap.