Fox Tales... Nap Time.

She may try and look mean, with her best "I'm a big bad wolf stare", but really she's a softy.

It's just an act to keep the cubs in line, now that they're getting to that 'boisterous' stage.

Sometimes they're very cheeky, snatching food from right under her nose. If there is something you want to avoid, it is getting between a fox and it's food, I have the bite marks to prove it!

Out of the two remaining cubs, this is the most confident one, always getting into trouble. He's wet from playing 'catch the moth reflections' in the puddle.

A bit of running around through the tall grass soon left him dry and fluffy again.

His sibling is a little smaller, but can hold its own in a squabble over nosh.

When they were young there was a third cub, but nature doesn't favour all, and now there are just the two of them. It was a cold, hard winter, and foxes vary their litter size according to conditions, it seems even three was too many.



Once the cubs had had their fill of food, they went off to practice their hunting skills by terrorising the beetles attempting to make the already perilous journey across the desert of the country lane.

There's nothing like sitting on the warm tarmac under the stars, sharing a few raisins with a friend.

A combination of tiredness bought on by the incessant attentions of the cubs, and the brightness of the camera flash, soon caused sleepy eyes to appear...

... and 'nap time' quickly followed.

Winter Coats with Ermine Trim...

The local lanes were flooded. I had to take a long winded route to get to see the fox cubs and was running rather late. He waited watching for the car door to open...

... but it was all taking much too long. Impatiently he jumped up on the bonnet peeking in to see what the delay was.

Scampering back and forth, he first stared at what I was doing, then leant round to see if the door was opening yet.

Then it was the cute 'feed me' face that he has perfected so well. The hunting hasn't been so easy with the fields so flooded and a little bit of extra food seemed to go down rather nicely.

I still call them cubs, but really they are all grown up. They are getting their winter coats, thicker with silver flanks, and their brush is really full (the perfect duvet and pillow to curl up with).

Homeward bound took me along a dark lane where suicidal rabbits play 'chicken' with the car, so I kept my eyes peeled for any potential jay walkers. In the distance, one particular rabbit stood out from the rest, fluorescing in the spotlights.

As I got closer, the peculiar running style looked more like that of a Stoat. Brilliant white, I first thought it must be an Ermine (a Stoat with its white winter coat), but it wasn't cold enough and all the local Stoats are still in their dark summer fur.

It was clear as I got out of the car that this wasn't a wild animal. It was an albino Ferret. It wasn't afraid of humans and allowed me to get quite close. As soon as I attempted to corner it , it would play 'hide and seek' down the numerous rabbit burrows.

I placed some food down a rabbit hole, and left. The next day I went back with a box and some thick leather motorcycle gloves, but it was gone. Lets hope it keeps itself out of trouble, there are plenty of foxes and owls that would find the poorly camouflaged chappess an easy snack, and it's not used to the wicked ways of the wild...

Fox Tales... The Wascally Wabbit

They might look cute, but one of their favourite pastimes is pulling the heads off small fluffy creatures. On the way to visit them is a fast section of road. Here, many rabbits fall victim to their own over confidence that they can outrun a speeding car. The corpses are quickly pounded into the road until only a velvety outline is left. It seems a waste. If I come across a fresh body I'll take it for the cubs.

Not willing to share the cabin with a bleeding body, I'll prop it up outside at the bottom of the windscreen. Usually they just look like they are asleep. It wasn't until I came to the dark country lane and switched on my rooflights that the full horror was illuminated. Its eyeball was hanging out and flapping in the wind, tapping on the glass....AAAargh!

Still, the fox cubs didn't seem to mind. "I wuv my wabbit!.."

Fox Tales... 4

The summer nights have become pleasantly warm. Sometimes it's nice to just hang out with the foxes in the lane.
Food is plentiful at the moment. There's loads of baby rabbits, rodents, snails, and there's always a yummy moth or crunchy beetle when you fancy an in between snack...
... So there is time to play.
Of course the occasional nice treat taken from the hand is welcome too.
Help, I'm surrounded!
Curious more than anything, they like to see what the 'strange man with a light on his head' is going to do next.
Some of the cubs are more gentle than others. This is the one that bit me a while back. He's still not quite sussed out which bit is food and which bit is hand. Here he's having a chew on my knuckle... careful now.
The foxes love to lie out on the warm tarmac. Maybe it's a fox thing because it didn't seem that comfortable to me.
Still, it means you can get some nice close shots. This one in particular (the 'bitey' one) is fascinated by the camera. The lens whirring in and out, the focusing light, even the flash doesn't seem to phase him.
Distracted by the haunting call of a Peacock, these chaps are always on the lookout for an easy meal.
As the sun begins to rise, they suddenly become sleepy. Time to head back to the deserted cottage for a nap...

OOOooww!!!...

It was a long way off, but in the far corner of a large field was something red moving about. At first I thought it was a fox... no, it was too long. Perhaps a deer? It wasn't until I looked through my stills camera at 12x optical that I realised what I was looking at.
I zoomed into the digital range of my camera, things got fuzzy but I could just make out not one fox but two! It's that time of year when foxes like to get jiggy...

With the better zoom (35x optical) on my video camera I could see a little better. The wind was blowing me about so the shots were somewhat unsteady.
At this point it is best to cross your legs because fox shenanigans can bring tears to your eyes. Foxes will start mating in a conventional 'doggy' style. At first the dog fox's penis isn't completely erect, but once inside it begins to swell. At the same time the vixens vagina will start to constrict. This combined with the barbed shape of dog fox's member, 'locks' them together (to ensure fertilisation). This is called the 'tie'. After ejaculation the dog will try to dismount and the couple will end up back to back. Unfortunately this can last for hours, and in the mean time the dog fox will dragged around by his precious bit! So when you hear those foxes howling in the night please be sympathetic and give a thought for Mr. Fox...

Mr. Tiddles won't be home for his milk...

It was a warm sunny day as she lolled, relaxed without a care in the world.
She knew I was there. She had her beady eye on me.
More watchful than normal. She'd spotted me and wanted me to know it....A little extra set of ears lurk in the background.
This is why she was being so alert. The cubs were at play...
The pics and video are a bit blurred and shaky because I was at 35X zoom.
The cubs had got a new toy...
...but I couldn't quite see what it was.


Lots of tiny cub yawns told mum that the kids were ready for a nap. It was time to head back off to the den. She stooped to collect up the toys...
Oh dear, it looks as if Mr Tiddles won't be coming home for his milk tonight!
With a quick glance she checked they weren't being followed and they were gone...