Foxes in the field (photo special)

On the basis that if the foxes won't come to me I need to go to them, I went back to the local fields this afternoon to see what I could find. After about half an hour with very little to photograph other than a distant kestrel and some sheep, I was heading for another location when I glanced back across the fields and spotted something interesting in the distance. The foxes (three of them) are on the right of the shot. There are a couple of pheasants in the foreground.

I slowly made my way back down the path and across the field to get a better vantage point. The adult fox is at the back of the shot. The two playful ones are cubs, around 5 months old I would think.

I continued to close in…

I eventually found a spot where I had an excellent but very restricted view through the dense boundary hedge. A lot of the time the foxes scampered out of view… but not all the time.

This next shot has a couple of interesting features in it. The standing cub has strikingly white paws. And the other cub has what appears to be a large tick just above its eye. Not pleasant, but the eye itself seemed clear (when I could see it). Hopefully the tick will eventually gorge itself and fall off without lasting harm.

I was watching them for about 30 minutes, the fun only ending when someone rode by on horseback. I was startled, and so were the foxes!

Nature Blog Network
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.

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This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. SittingFox

    15 Aug 2011

    Yes, that fox does have white socks. Unusual. Very nice to see them playing in the countryside like that :up: I like the photo where the white-pawed cub has seized its sibling by the neck!

  2. gdare

    15 Aug 2011

    Knowing the history of fox hunting in England, no wonder they were startled :insane:

  3. Words

    15 Aug 2011

    Darko, so true, though I don't think hunting was on the menu… more a gentle hack through the fields.

  4. Words

    15 Aug 2011

    Adele, it was definitely one of my better field sightings, and with the sheep fencing removed I could get a bit closer than a month or so ago. Here's a larger version of the white-sock strangler!

  5. gdare

    16 Aug 2011

    :yes:

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