I decided to try to get some photos of the fox cubs from halfway down the garden today. The field they are in (at the back of the rear garden) is very 'undulating' - ie: not at all even ! There are lots of ridges and ditches and a low dip in the middle. So even though I can get great views from the second floor lockdown loftroom, the views from the terraced bottom of the garden mean I'm a bit too low. So I settled on half way down the garden where it is a bit more risen and where I could also remain partially hidden.
I also decided to try using my Big Bertha camera lens again, and that was probably a mistake too as I still couldn't get any sharp images, and all of my photos are again heavily edited.
I'll be going to sleep tonight dreaming up a Plan C.
But back to tonight (Weds 13th May)….this afternoon I done a brief test run on Big Bertha on the tripod from the middle of the garden. The set up looked ok but I should have spent more time on it. From 6.45pm I started regularly popping my head out of the lockdown loftroom and at 7.10pm I saw a fox leaving the far corner of the field. 10 minutes later the Vixen (not the same fox) came out into the open area.
A few minutes later I was at my station half way down the garden. The only problem now was I had the sun setting just to the right of where I had the camera lens aimed and it was almost directly in my eye line. For a good 20 minutes any photos I took were almost like a 'white out'.
Vixen seemed much more 'on edge' tonight. Her ears were pricked back for most of the time that I was watching her. And the cubs weren't as active as last night. For quite a while there was only one that was playing around the Vixen. Another two did come out a for a few minutes, but I think I only saw three in total tonight. Last night there were four.
Because I was struggling to get any decent photos, I spent quite a bit of time just observing the fox family's behaviour. Several times I watched the cubs nudge the Vixens mouth, and I think that they are asking her for food. They will be almost fully weaned by this age, so will still be both taking milk from mum when they can and having a good old chew on whatever food mum brings in. I saw the Vixen snap at one of them when it tried to suckle.
Twice tonight Vixen and the cubs suddenly dived for the nearest scrub. Something tonight was definitely bothering her. And because I wasn't in the lockdown loftroom I couldn't scan across with the binoculars to see what it was. My view from halfway down the garden is much more restricted than my view from the loftroom.
I also heard a succession of high pitched 'barks' when they all disappeared. An alarm call maybe ? I don't know. I also didn't see the male Muntjac tonight, and he was becoming almost a guaranteed sighting.
My photos tonight are a little better than yesterdays, but I'm still not happy with them. Even as record shots, they are pretty crap. I'm going to try a different vantage point and a different camera lens tomorrow evening.
I was back in the loftroom an hour later. Vixen and the cubs were obviously on edge and not showing well, and I had the added hassle of the pair of local Great Spotted Woodpeckers giving me a bit of a hard time as I was positioned right by their favourite feeder. They have young to feed in a tree just over to the right and are coming down to the peanut feeders several times an hour. This is the female at 8am this morning, all fluffed up against the cold.
The back garden is also now entertaining recently fledged Starlings and House Sparrows. I've been neglecting the garden birds recently. I'll change that tomorrow.
Keep well everyone and stay safe
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