The Fox Went A-Hunting

We've been spotting a Red Fox in our yard several times this last week.  Thursday afternoon was bright sun, and he was out hunting again. The Fox's favorite delicacy here in Alaska is the Vole, which we seem to have a plentiful supply of in our yard.  A Fox never stays still for very long, so you have to be quick or all you'll get is the flash of that big bushy tail.

I am linking up with Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

And something just a little different for

Gaelyn's Foto Friday Fun 80

Index No. 6387

a critter that I photographed back in June,

a pretty Hummingbird Moth in my flowers.

There's quite a contrast in my backyard in the summer and winter!

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Earlier in the week (HERE) I posted some photos that I had played with in PSE featuring a red squirrel, some redpolls, and a moose.  Several people looked at the take-off photo of the red squirrel and saw a fox.  So I thought the squirrel deserved a little closer attention.  The photos below are of the little guy scrambling around the deck, scarfing up the seed I had spread on the snow for the redpolls.  If you read an earlier post (HERE), you know I took down my feeders because of the moose who was raiding them.

At least my raider is a little smaller this time!

I'm sure the little dear was delighted to find such easy pickings right after he ventured out of his winter's nest.

The photo that caused the confusion is below, followed by the original photo with just a little tweaking on the lighting.  

As you can see, the photo is bit out of focus (squirrels are really fast when they decide to hightail it), hence the reason I began to play with it.

I checked my archives, and I do have a photo of a fox take-off.  I posted other photos in the series I took that day back in early September (HERE), and this one was part of a collage.  It was out of focus (foxes are really fast at hightailing too), so, you guessed it, I played with a few filters.  I chose two versions to share with you.

Perhaps I'll do some searching and find more take-offs.....

The Fox Hunt, Alaskan Style

No Tally Ho or hounds for a fox hunt in Alaska.  The only red coat is that of the fox.  The American red fox is the same species as the European red fox, but the fox is the one doing the hunting here.  Their favorite food is voles, and I am happy to have a helper to keep the vole population under control.  A few days ago I spotted a fox on the hunt out the window.  Fox usually go through the yard very quickly, so I grabbed my camera and started shooting through the window.  All the while he was there I was wanting to get outside to get better shots, but I resigned myself to staying inside and doing the best I could.  He actually stayed around longer than I thought, digging in the freshly plowed snow, searching the area for any potential food, and then running off into the trees.  The white of the snow makes such a good backdrop for that lovely red coat!

Hunting

This little fox had spotted some prey in the bushes in our yard.  He looked at me a couple of times as I moved closer to him but obviously he didn't feel threatened by me.  Hunting is serious business, and when you have prey spotted you don't let the presence of someone with a camera distract you.  

After watching closely for several minutes he pounced into the bushes.  I don't know if the hunt was successful, but he spent a few minutes with his bushy tail and hindquarters sticking out of the bushes, and then disappeared further into the brush.

I like it when wildlife comes to me and I don't have to leave home to get the photo.

Traveling Down the Road

This morning when we looked out the window we saw this fox traveling down the road in front of our house.  I managed to get a few shots through the window as he ran by.  The light wasn't the best as it was overcast, so I decided a collage was the best way to share his journey with you.

A Fox, Wildflowers, and Sydney

More flowers are blooming in my yard. I have planted many native wildflowers in my beds. They come back up each spring much more reliably than domestic varieties, and in my book anything that survives our long cold winters is a superstar. Below is one of my favorites, the Western Columbine. The Wild Iris is blooming in various places around town, but so far mine are only showing buds.

The Fiddlehead Ferns mingle with the Columbine leaves to make a lovely pattern.

Another one of our local residents made his way through our yard yesterday morning. We spotted a fox moving through the trees in the back of our yard. We see him every once in a while, but he moves very quickly, and it is difficult to get good shots of him. This was the best that I managed this time.My granddaughter Sydney was sitting at the kitchen table and looking out the window intently. When I looked out to see what she was looking at I saw the fox. She's very interested in what's going on around her, and likes watching the birds and airplanes. Below she was looking up watching a small plane as it flew overhead. Sydney has been spending the day at our house as her day care provider is on vacation. She is very helpful. Here she went to the mailbox with Grandpa to help get the mail.

Then she tried playing with her dog Sasha. Sasha is a Chocolate Lab and loves to chase balls or whatever you will throw for her. Sydney really wants to throw Sasha's toys for her, but can only get it to go a short distance. Sasha gets very disgusted with the whole thing and tries to get anyone else to but the baby to throw the toy for her.

The Lilac bush is full of buds this year. Last year this bush didn't have a single bloom on it because moose had come through the yard during the winter and thought it was a tasty snack. Last winter we wrapped the tree with landscape fabric and the moose weren't able to get to the tasty shoots.

Within a few days these buds should be fully open, along with the Iris, and more flowers will be blooming in the woods.

"The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night"

Well, it wasn't a chilly night like in the old ballad, "The Fox", but it was a chilly afternoon, and the fox was out hunting. I was sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch today when I looked out and saw him trotting through the trees in our yard. He travels through periodically and he seems to come about the same hour every time, which seems very strange to me as there is a great variation in our daylight hours. He has some kind of schedule, but who knows what it is. He certainly doesn't wait for the "moon to give him light" but seems to like the bright sunny days, and his passage is usually very swift. Well, "he'd many a mile to go that night, before he reached the town-o" and that always seems to be the case when we see him. Today I think he must have heard something, because he came out of the trees and moved behind one of my flower beds.

The fox's very favorite food is voles, and I'm sure that was what he was hunting for, unlike the fox in the ballad who was hunting ducks and geese.

He listened very carefully, waiting to jump and pounce if a vole was there.

Interestingly, foxes cache excess food when the hunting is good. They return to these storage sites and have been observed digging up a cache, inspecting it, and reburying it in the same spot. Apparently they want to be sure that their food is still there.

The fox moved on. He hadn't found the food he was looking for, and I don't think it was for "the little ones, eight, nine, ten," as breeding time is in February and March.

I took all of these shots through the window. It was about 5 below and I didn't have any shoes on and none were close to the door. I was not inclined to go out on the deck barefoot, and I thought I might scare him off. This was the longest I had seen him stop in our yard, although it was only about two minutes, "For he'd many a mile to go that night, Before he reached the town-o, town-o, town-o, He'd many a mile to go that night, Before he reached the town-o." When I was in high school I was a big fan of folk music, and "The Fox" was recorded by the Brothers Four around 1960. I still have many of their LPs from all those years ago.

The Elusive Fox

On Thanksgiving Day, as we were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner, my daughter looked out the window and saw a fox. She said she had seen him several times while she was at our house during our roadtrip. Because of the Thanksgiving dinner prep, my camera was not on the table where it usually sits in anticipation of any outdoor activity. By the time I had gotten the camera the fox was into the woods. Look closely and you can see him concealed by the trees. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.) He did pause and look back at me before heading off deeper into the trees. I was trying to get some shots of him before he disappeared and in my hurry I didn't get the camera's focus on the fox.

That's the one thing about wildlife photos--you have to be prepared for the unexpected. My camera normally is out and ready, but of course when I am unprepared seems to be the time when a wild creature picks to show up. Since we seem to be on his regular path, I'm hoping I'll manage to get some better shots of him.