Foxes in Clyne Woods, Swansea

I bought a new camcorder recently, and have used it a few times trying to film some Foxes in my local woods. Here's some footage which I took on September 6th, which was virtually the first time I'd used it:

Foxes Eating Bread

There's a woman near me who feeds Foxes most evenings, and on this occasion I was able to stand nearby and film them eating the titbits she'd put out for them:

Injured Fox Drinking

A pair of Foxes seem to be sharing the sett with the Badgers. Although one seems to be healthy, I would guess this individual has probably come off worse in a collision with a vehicle, and looks as if it is also suffering from mange:

This was filmed on March 22nd to 24th, some of the daylight footage being captured around midday, which is a strange time for a Fox to be active. 

I haven't seen it on the camera since, so I can only guess at what's happened to it.

Badger and Fox on a Trail Camera

Whilst out in the woods on Friday evening looking for Tawny Owls, I stumbled upon (nearly stumbled in, actually, as the holes were so big) a large Badger sett. This is only the third sett I've found, and all within the last few months, so I must be getting my eye in. Anyway, I went back on Saturday evening about 6.30 and put my trail camera in place nearby, sprinkling a few peanuts down to tempt any passing wildlife. Here's a compilation of one night's footage, taken on the 23rd/24th:

The first Badger appeared about 7.30 p.m., only about an hour after I'd left the area, and the last one retired for the day at 6.30 a.m., so they are pretty nocturnal at the moment. The Foxes (which may be sharing the same sett), however, were active before dusk and still active at 10 a.m.

Not sure if this is one Badger, or several different ones passing through; but, judging by the size of the sett and the number of holes, I'd say the latter. I can't wait for the warmer evenings to come, when I'll hopefully be able to spend some time watching them in person!

Fox Cubs in Daylight

Here's some colour footage of the cubs to go with the earlier black and white. This is all from between about 6.15 and 6.30 p.m. on May 14th. Looks like the vixen has quite a handful with these four:

I went down again on Tuesday evening, and waited hidden behind some bushes about thirty yards away, downwind from the den, hoping to witness some action. After three hours in the cold and wind, not a glimpse. Must have been my smelly socks that kept them safely underground!

Fox and Cubs

A little footage filmed recently on my trail camera - on the night of May 13th and 14th. The cubs seem to appear above ground any time between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m. The film flickers a little at the beginning, but I got some quite nice footage of the vixen feeding the four youngsters, and of the little cuties scurrying around in front of the camera:

I also got some colour daylight footage, which I might post later.

Fox Cubs

A pleasant surprise this evening when I popped down to check the trail camera which I had left out at one of my Fox dens.  As I was passing the first den, some movement near the holes caught my eye, and I was amazed to see three or four tiny Fox cubs (kits in America?) wandering around. I dived down behind a bush to get out my equipment (ooh, er!), and was able to set up only about twenty metres from them. They barely seemed to notice I was there, only looking with mild interest in my direction when I fired off a burst from my camera:

By the size of them, and by the fact that I haven't seen them before, I wouldn't be surprised if this is their first time above ground. Anyway, after a few minutes, as the hazy sun disappeared, they went underground, and didn't re-emerge in the next half-hour, so I let them be, only to return later, but there was no sign of them this time. The weather doesn't look good for photography for the next day or two, but I've left my trail camera nearby to monitor them, so here's hoping for some more footage and photographs of them as they grow over the next few weeks.

Fox on a Trail Camera

I picked up my trail camera on Friday evening, and here's some of the footage it captured; all taken between 7.37 and 8.56 p.m. on May 2nd:

Pretty sure this is a different Fox to the one in my previous post, as this is near the other den at the far end of the field.
I wish I'd taken my big lens out with me, because, as I was walking up through Singleton Park, I located a Tawny Owl, and was able to stand right underneath it as it hooted, before flying off toward Brynmill Park. Would've made a great shot, but I only had a smallish lens with me.
And then there were the approachable Wheatears on the beach earlier.
 Anyone else find they get the best photos opps. when they've left their gear behind?!

Chance Encounter with a Fox

I think now is the time of year when the first Fox-cubs begin to appear above ground, so, on Tuesday evening, I went down to what I've now begun to call my "Fox Field", where I first started seeing Foxes last year. There are two fox dens visible in the field, and I set up my trail camera near one of them, hoping to capture any signs of activity. I passed the second den on my way back, stopping to photograph the holes, when I spied a Fox watching me from only about thirty yards away, on the other side  of a small stream that borders the field. It didn't seem too worried by my presence, and gave me time to delve into my bag and get out my camera and big lens, enabling me to fire off a few shots at about a 1/200 of a second:

It then proceeded to casually stroll further into the large overgrown garden it was in, before settling down for a snooze in the long grass, unfortunately almost out-of-sight of my camera. It was only 6.30 p.m., and the first Fox I've seen out on a summer evening this year. Hopefully, the first of many such encounters.

Foxes on a Trail Camera

For want of anything else to upload, I thought I'd post some footage of foxes which I filmed on a trail camera last summer. 

Once I had discovered the foxes, I needed to ascertain the best place to put my hide to try for some photos. So, I bought this trail camera, and set it up near an area where there were obvious signs of fox activity (the grass in the corner of the field had been flattened, and there were trails leading off into the undergrowth). By setting the camera to record the date and time on the photos, I was able to discover that the foxes were active up until 9 a.m. (although one fox did appear briefly at 1 p.m.), and that they emerged as early as 5 p.m. to bask in the sunshine on bright evenings. I then set the camera to video mode (unfortunately, this camera won't record the date and time in video mode), and was able to get the following footage (which is eight twenty-second clips merged together):



The video is not of the best quality, but I didn't want to buy a more expensive camera and risk it being stolen, and it did give me the information I wanted.

Once I had the knowledge of when and where the foxes were active, I was able to set up my hide and get these pictures.

All was going fine until the council decided to mow the overgrown field, and then steal my hide!

I have seen several foxes in nearby suburban streets since then; so, fingers crossed, I'll have another go at filming them this summer.

A Few Fox Pictures

I've spent a bit of time in my Fox hide recently, but without much success. I did, however, manage this shot last Wednesday evening:

I returned again to the site to try my luck again on Saturday evening, only to see, to my horror, that the whole area had been mown, presumably by the local council. Thankfully, they didn't damage or take my hide or trail camera (which captured the whole incident!), but rather mowed round them. This has now left the hide (which is actually a small, one-man tent) rather isolated and exposed in the far corner of the field:

Thinking my Fox-photography time may now be limited (the field is probably going to be 'developed' at some point), I returned at dawn the following two mornings to see what I could see. In the half-light of Sunday's dawn, I was amazed to arrive and see five or six Foxes wandering around the now-mown meadow. In contrast, there were no Foxes to be seen at all first thing on Monday.

Anyway, the following pictures were all taken on Sunday and Monday mornings.

This Fox appproached with prey - a bird, I think - in its mouth:

Having a poo:

This Fox trotted past so close that I could barely fit it into the frame:

I've decided to leave the hide in place for now, and risk letting it be removed. It's the first chance I've had to photograph Foxes, so I don't want to let it pass without getting a few decent shots!

Fox Update

I've been keeping a close eye on my Fox site these last few days. I've not seen the cubs again, but have seen several adult foxes in the vicinity. On Friday, I decided to wander up to the far corner of this overgrown field, and came upon an area where the grass had been flattened and there were several tunnels leading into the surrounding hedgerow. It looked like foxes had been active here, so I left out a trail camera on Friday night. I returned today to check the camera, and was delighted to see several fox images, including a couple of an adult with cubs. They are not good enough photos to post here, and, anyway, I've left the camera out again tonight.

I also erected a small hide, semi-hidden in long vegetation nearby. Once I'm sure the foxes have accepted its presence, I'll be ensconcing myself inside, and hoping the foxes will pose nicely close by.

Whilst on my dusk rambles this week, I've thrice noticed another fox taking the same path across a nearby playing field between 9.30 and 10 p.m., so decided to hang around with my camera this evening, hoping I might get close enough for a shot or two. Sure enough, it turned up on cue, although a little further away than previously, and I was able to obtain a couple of pictures, which I've left full frame as they came out of the camera:

I'm heading out to the hide at dawn this morning, and hope to have a few more fox shots to post within a few days. Watch this space!

Fox

When I went out on Saturday morning, before going to Pennard Cliffs, I walked past an overgrown field about a mile from my house, and glanced through a gap in the hedge to my right. I was delighted to see, about fifty yards away on the right edge of the field, at least three foxes frolicking just in front of a large stand of Japanese Knotweed. At least two of the foxes were clearly cubs, although it was difficult to see clearly what was happening with long grasses obscuring my view. I watched for a while, semi-hidden from view, before the adult fox led the youngsters off towards the far end of the field. Once I was convinced they were not going to return, I emerged from my hiding place and went over to where they had been. There were large areas of flattened grass where the foxes had been loafing around, and several tunnels and paths leading into the dense undergrowth. I guessed I had probably stumbled upon a foxes' den.

Anyway, I visited the area again last night, to see if there was any sign of fox activity. After a few minutes' wait, an adult fox emerged from the long grass and began walking towards me, before coming to rest about thirty yards from me. It sat still for three or four minutes, enabling me to poke my lens through the foliage to get these two shots:

I'm going to head back there this evening to see what I can see. Fingers crossed!

 

Fox Meets Cat

Not done much photography lately, but last night I looked out of my window after dark, and spotted this Fox investigating a cat outside a neighbour's house across the road. Neither seemed too bothered by the presence of the other, and both soon resumed their normal nighttime activities: