OK, not exactly hunt related, because I wasn’t hunting, or even mounted. But I saw an absolutely lovely fox this morning…big and healthy with a HUGE brushy tail and those lovely black knee legs. Made my day, and I figured that the folks here would understand.
During my daily walks I’ve been seeing a lot of them - very healthy with gorgeous brushes - close by our farm and the estate across the road, many of them running across my path only a few yards in front of me, then turning around to stand and stare at me as I continue to walk by. Always a treat to see them, especially so healthy. Such beautiful, beautiful creatures.
I’ve been trying to remember to carry my camera with me…but keep forgetting. :rolleyes:
I saw a HUGE one this winter!
He was sleeping on top of the roundbale out with the horses, and as I approached the bale two large ears poked out of the top of the bale. In the early morning light, I couldn’t figure out if it was a weird dog or a mutant cat.
I even asked him “Are you a fox???”
He was so big! He stood up, stretched and then walked off the bale like he owned it, trotted around to the other side, looked at me, and then promptly trotted off to where the foxhunting horses are pastured (oh irony).
So incredibly beautiful. I’ve only ever seen the dusky little ones, but this was the red with the black legs/ears and white tipped tail. Such an experience!
Cool! Yay you!!!
I love them. They are so smart, and great at keeping rats out of our barn.
Ain’t it great!
Always makes me feel special to see them. I have a small one visiting. Usually being harassed by the local crows who alert me to his presence. Sometimes it’s the blue Jays squawking. The also harass the local bear so whenever I hear birds upset and carrying on I look for a cat, fox, bear or coyote and the local redtail hawk. You can trace their travels by the birds.
I think it’s good luck! Tally Ho!! And it counts as a view!! 
The local fox population should be good this fall. I’ve seen quite a few in our area. More than in past years. Despite there being a healthy coyote population the population of foxes, rabbits, etc. has grown quite a bit as well. Amazing how nature balances things out.
All those worries about coyotes wiping out the fox population seem to have been for naught.
Wateryglen, you’re right about the crows. They were setting up a racket, but I was looking up, thinking they were setting the alarm for a hawk, which is the far more common scenario.
This one was a paler, dusky red, not a bright red. Does that mean it was a vixen? She was quite large, considerably taller than the foxes I’ve seen in past years. But then she’s hanging out in suburbia, with an abundant food supply of squirrels, mice and rabbits.
Although I can certainly appreciate the fine art works of man as much as anyone, there’s really no beauty that compares with the unexpected appearance of a lovely creature in the woods.
I am house sitting and one night could hear the fox below the house on the other side of the stream. The next night on the way for night check DH and I saw her crossing the road and an empty field. She was small but looked good. It was dusk out but I think her color was the lighter red.
We have a few that live on our property and the tree farm behind us. I hear them every night. It drives the dogs nuts. Last year we had a few sightings but none this year.
For the first couple of years we had foxes I would hear them but only see the reflection of their eyes at night if I got out the flashlight.
We ran across a mother and kits when we were out hacking last weekend. So adorable. We have a very healthy fox population where we are and often see them out and about. It is always a thrill.
jmho!!
Foxes come in hues, hair densities & color differences. Blonde, red or brownish not uncommon. Thinner coats in summer. Thicker in winter of course! Smaller foxes this time of year might be cubs. But a taller one?!! Might be a coyote. They REALLY come in color/hair/size combo’s! I’ve seen coyotes that were red with black points. Some blond, some german shepherd colorings. I have both here and often have to study them to know for sure…coyotes move a bit different and carry their tails different. And yes they DO diminish the fox population…sometimes badly.
We have a fox that lives near our farm, and I’m always happy to see him/her. Especially since coyotes have killed a lot of the neighbor’s barn cats, so we haven’t replaced our old barn cat for fear that a new one would get eaten. But the fox will sometimes dart in and out of the barn if no one else is there, so at least we have a little bit of rodent control. S/he is somewhat skittish about people on foot, but seems quite comfortable near the horses, so I’ve been able to ride rather close. Lovely creature.
I’m quite sure the one that I saw was not a coyote. That was my first thought when I caught her out of the corner of my eye. But I had a good face to face look, no more than 30 feet away. She (he) had fully black legs, with the smaller, more delicate feet of a fox, and the shape and taper of the face also said fox. There’s also a certain quality of movement that says coyote loud and clear, and that wasn’t the case here. I hate to call it skulking, which gives a human slant to it, but coyotes have a certain lift & roll to their shoulders, a looseness to their gait, and this was different, a gait that was light over the ground, and compact.
I hope to see her again, but I’m not counting on it.
We have a pretty little grey fox that we often see in the evenings at our barn.
On my ride late this afternoon, in the estate across from our farm, exactly in the same spot where I saw that gorgeous fox in my earlier post, I saw three adorable baby cubs playing on a hunt jump (3 stacked logs) near the gravel road. One cub was walking along the top log while peering down at the other two that were running around the base playing tag. They were soooooo cute, and so innocent -just having fun playing.
A perfect Kodak moment!
One of the cubs on the ground caught sight of my pony ambling toward the playing trio, studied my pony for a few seconds, then ducked into the underbrush beyond the fence line. The second cub on the ground followed suit. The cub on the top of the jump finally saw me when I was parallel to the fence, but waited until I had strolled past before leaping to the ground to rejoin its siblings.
Can you believe that, once again, I had forgotten to bring my camera. 
At the end of my saunter, and within sight of my farm as my guy strolled along the edge of a neighboring field, I crossed paths with another fox - an adult - who casually studied me for a few seconds before, not in the least bit concerned or worried, slipped onto the nearby underbrush. I studied the spot when I passed, and noticed a well worn “tunnel” in the deep grass, right at fox height.
Makes me wonder if yet another den was nearby with a litter of pretty cubs. I hope so…because I’m bringing my camera next ride!
I wouldn’t count on it, it could be a Lotka-Volterra cycle in which the population of one species peaks before crashing.
Whaaaaa?!!
OK ya’ll…admit it…how many of you are going to go google Lotka-Volterra cycle to see what the term means?!! :winkgrin::lol:
I knew about the ebb/flow of animal populations but hadn’t heard that term before!
Off to google!!!
OMG!
OMG! Whatever you do - DON’T look at the Wikipedia definition of the Lotka-Volterra cycle of predators & prey!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAaaaahhhhhhhhh!:winkgrin:
It’s a math equation!!
My brain’s gonna explode!!! AAAAAaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!
:dead:
WG! WG! Calm down! Calm down! Get thee to thy front patio with a refreshing libation!!! Take Calais with you and at least one kitty. Ommmmmmmmmmm
Ommmmmmmmmmm
Ommmmmmmmmmm
I saw quite a handsome fox yesterday. Someone had reported seeing cubs and I went in search of them but saw only one of the parents. The fox I saw was very healthy with a full brush! I followed for awhile on horseback but never got close enough for a photo.
in the past when there was a den in the same place I used to see the cubs out playing all the time and they were adorable.
I saw a young fox in my neighborhood last week. He was all long legs and slight body. He saw me coming and raced across the street and out of sight.
Sometimes we see them on our back stonewall. The older ones will be looking for food but the younger ones seem to skip along the wall, just like a child would.
