Having sat through the annual ritual of watching the Eurovision voting without having heard or seen a single act, I popped outside into the garden. As I approached the back of the garden I saw the briefest glimpse of the rear end of a low level pale red mammal disappearing across the path toward the fence. A cub!!! It had to be. Ok it was dark, and 'glimpse' exaggerates the length of time I saw it, but I did see it.
Back inside to get the camera, try a couple of test shots at 1600 ISO, manual focus, and no flash (just a torch on the ground.) Yes it should work. Now sit and wait. Sure enough, something appeared.
An adult fox…grrrr
Yes, it was the adult, Roofy as I'm beginning to think of him. He gathered up the small amount of food I'd left out and disappeared again. 
But we waited, hearing strange rustling from a nearby garden. Eventually the noises came closer and we were rewarded by a brief proper sighting of Roofy and a cub cutting across the very rear of the garden. No chance of a photo (well there was a chance but I missed it miserably, and the fleeting glimpse as the cub headed back under the fence). But a clear view of a young cub out with 'dad'. No doubt about it this time.
We waited for about 20 minutes more, but other than Roofy, no further signs of the cub. No doubt though there will be plenty more opportunities. From what I could see the cub was certainly larger than those I first saw last year, which suggests that it's 7 or 8 weeks old, and probably located slightly further away than they were last year. But not too far away 🙂
SittingFox
13 May 2007Hey, that's great! :yes:
Interesting that we've both only seen one cub :confused: Either it's just the boldest of each litter in both cases, or the average fox litter size has dropped dramatically!
And Roofy seems a fine name for the young dogfox.
anonymous
13 May 2007Zachary writes:
I feel bad that the cub(s) didn't get a chance to bond with you like Roofy and siblings did, during their formative period. (Once puberty sets in, the fear wall never comes down to the extent it can with a childhood bond)
Words
13 May 2007Adele, could be to do with distance from the earth. The first year we saw two cubs at most (usually just one), also out with the dog fox. Last year was exceptional… two vixens and an earth immediately beyond our fence. We were the exit so seeing lots of them was no surprise, though we only saw the whole litter of 7 together once. But a lower population makes sense. Last year was very crowded and they didn't all survive.
Words
13 May 2007Zachary, no guarantees, but there's still time 😉 That's if they actually show up of course.