I have been having foxes visit here for about 4 years. Every night, I put out a small amount of dried dog food…. enough for a snack but not enough to stop them hunting normally. These foxes are very much rural foxes and will disappear if they hear any noise, or I attempt to creep out. They are very wary and I am happy that they are, as it is this wariness that keeps them safe.
I have two vixens (Clover and Parsley) that were pregnant in March and by April, it was clear that they had had their cubs as you could see they were lactating. The cubs usually appear at my feeding station around the middle of May when they are about 7 weeks old, depending on how close their den is.
This week, I captured my first views of a small cub visiting with Clover, the vixen, initially.
Amazingly, they very quickly appear on their own… tiny and no bigger than the average cat, it astounds me that these youngsters are so independent in the darkness!
This rather bold youngster has visited every night, usually on its own. I suspect it is a male and the largest of the litter… the smaller, more timid ones not appearing yet.
Yesterday night, I then captured footage of a smaller, more timid cub. This cub may be from Daisy as it appeared nervous of Clover when she appeared and she checked out the cub hiding in the hedgerow. Only when Clover left, did this tiny cub come back out.
Today, whilst I was sitting at my desk, working, I saw that Clover was back at the feeding stain clearing up the last of the food. It was 10am! Grabbing my camera, I quietly opened my son’s bedroom window as this overlooks the field. As she moved away from the food, I was able to take a few shots. She looked straight at me and only hesitated for a few seconds before disappearing off into the hedgerow. It was so lovely to see her in daylight as I usually on see them in IR on my cameras. I hope she continues to visit during the day.
I have installed a new HD camera in this area, but it will take me a few nights to get the setting right. When I do, it should give me even better footage of these lovely visitors. I should also be in a position to choose the camera I live stream, thanks to developments at iCodes, who help and advise me on my camera setups. I use their icatcher Console system to record and capture all this footage as well.
I hope to be able to bring you more fox cubs footage in the coming weeks!