With the evenings getting longer and the light not going until gone 9pm, I have been treated to daylight views of my dog fox, Bracken, on the fox camera which live streams on my website. This individual has been the only consistent visitor I have had for the last year or so. At one point, in the winter, there were at least 6 individuals visiting, but it is only him and one other vixen now , who visit every night. The vixen does not appear until dark, but Bracken often appears within minutes of me putting the food out. I was sure he must be sitting in the field somewhere as he appears so quickly.
Tonight it was a lovely evening, so I put the food out and went up into my son’s bedroom which overlooks the field. The hedge has grown massively and I could only just see over the top. I spied him appear and go straight to the feeding station, where he disappeared from view from the bedroom. After eating just a little bit, I watched him move across to the middle of the field, where he lay down in the long grass. I could only just see his ears and,occasionally, he lifted his head a little.
I watched him for about 20 minutes, with the window wide open , sitting on the window sill with my camera reaching out as far as I dare. The light was beginning to fade and I hoped he would return to the food, which would involve him walking back toward me.
After a brief scratch, he stood up and moved closer across the field. Stopping, he scanned the area…. of course standing right behind some particularly tall grass heads…
He then continued to move toward me. He knew I was there and was not worried at all by my presence. I have never attempted to get close to these foxes and always watch them on my monitors.
As he got closer, he began to become obscured by the tall hedge between my vantage point and the field. Quite suddenly, he stopped, sat down and then looked right at me! For a few seconds he stayed there, as I tried to manoeuvre myself around slightly to get a small clear view through the hedge. Having eye to eye contact with a wild creature, who is comfortable in your presence, is a very special thing and my heart was racing! I was amazed by how relaxed he was. You can see, by the photos, that he was more intrigued than anything!
After this wonderful moment, that lasted just a few seconds, he disappeared from view and came back to the feeding station, finishing off the food and then slinking into the growing dusk, his form disappearing into the long grass.
What a wonderful moment…. and I am delighted to have these images to remind me of that special encounter…. what a handsome chap he is!
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