YES, Finally.

We have just moved into a new place after a few years doing it up. Not touched the garden yet but as we weren't living here I put up a few cameras and an alarm system and was quite happy to see these on the playback one morning. Unfortunately there only seems to be one now but I'm going to have a good read of this thread and see what I need to do to get some decent photos so thanks for documenting yours Dale, I'm sure it will be handy.

https://flic.kr/p/2nHirTG
 
That's so cool @Mike.P , lovely to see, they look quite young too. I use Blinks, as well as a trail camera.

I hope my thread helps, it is very much as it's happened, I've not really made any attempts to specialise, apart from feeding them to keep them visiting. My early images weren't that good, more recent ones are better but all have been taken in the dead of night and pitch dark, apart from some 10pm ish visits, mid summer this year with a little bit of light.


My Wee Pal. by Dale, on Flickr
 
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Mike.P said:
We have just moved into a new place after a few years doing it up. Not touched the garden yet but as we weren't living here I put up a few cameras and an alarm system and was quite happy to see these on the playback one morning. Unfortunately there only seems to be one now but I'm going to have a good read of this thread and see what I need to do to get some decent photos so thanks for documenting yours Dale, I'm sure it will be handy.

https://flic.kr/p/2nHirTG
Click to expand...


It's very possibly time for this spring's youngsters to head off to their own new territories so don't be too worried that the 2 have become 1.
 
Gav-canon said:
Good to see, your going to need a bigger bowl..
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Cheers Gav. (y)
The bowl is becoming redundant I think, they always carry it off further up the garden, I'm finding it 30 metres or so from the house every morning, near to where they enter under the fence. I need to figure a way of fixing it down, I think I will screw it to some 3x2, about 2 feet long, and put paving tiles on the wood, until I can come up with something more permanent, or just get a heavier bowl.

I don't mind them running up the garden with it but it does scatter the food, which isn't good from a hygiene point of view. Our dog sometimes scavenges it in the mornings, which I don't want.

Capturing the foxes on trailcam is also easier, if the food is in one place. (y)
 
It's been pretty quiet on the foxy front lately, just one, maybe two visits a night and always food left over the next day.

I think the 2 younger foxes have dispersed or come to grief, as I think it was only one fox visiting for a while, probably our original fox. I had a feeling this last week though that there were 2 again, mainly because one has a limp and one doesn't. They would show up at different times, so I wasn't absolutely sure.

Last night though, both were here at the same time, one with a very obvious limp. :(

Edit:- the bowl going walkies has been remedied, nothing a long piece of 3x2 and some small boulders didn't fix. Genius, if I say so myself. :LOL:

View: https://youtu.be/2An5sOHcbms
 
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@Mike.P ...... Looks like he's got that caught under a fence or something Mike....or possibly, mange.
 
Been a little while since I've updated this. The 'new' foxes are a lot more skittish than the original fox we had. He became quite a friend but I kept him wild. Sadly, I've not seen him for about a month now.

We are though, getting about 3 foxes, that I can make out, it could be more. One from last year and 2 cubs from this year. They always come in the dead of night, so making images difficult. I'm not set up for images when it's that dark and flash is out of the question.

This is (I think), one of the cubs from this year, it's difficult to gauge size with the camera down so low. This was Friday past, 09/06/23. No images but still, a pleasure to see.


View: https://youtu.be/HBUhDF_N_EI
 
Mike.P said:
We had to stop feeding ours even though they had a couple of cubs. Rats were becoming a bit of a problem.
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Suprisingly, we never see any rats. We've lived here 15 years now and I've maybe seen 2. Our neighbour apparently had one under their shed 2 years ago, so they tore it down, built a raised brick foundation and built a shed on that. If they'd asked me, I could've told them it was probably just passing through and they happened upon it. There's the old saying too 'you're never more than 10 feet from a rat'. How true that is I'm not sure but they'd have saved a ton of money by not reacting.

We're not far from the river either (about 150m) and when I walk the dog there at night, I can smell rats quite often, that kind of natural gas smell.

I don't have much doubt there are rats about here, I just never see them.

Another rat I rarely see in the garden, are the grey squibs, again, maybe 2 in all the time we've lived here, despite having bird feeders out and living close to the woods as well.

As a side, if the foxes don't come in at night, the food is always mostly there the next day.
 
It could be sad times.

I've not seen our original fox now for a good while, probably 2 months or so. I know him, his ways and that little turned down whisker of his. What has happened, I don't know, I'm hoping he has just moved on with the recent influx of other foxes, we have had 3 in the garden at the same time until quite recently, so maybe he's been forced out of his territory. This is wildlife though and the harsh realities that brings are never far from my mind.

You never know, he may just turn up one night, he's done this before, just not for so long.

There are currently the occasional visits from foxes but one at a time now and maybe once, or twice a week. These foxes are far more skittish than our original one was and I've not been able to tell these ones apart, as they don't come close and always turn up at the dead of night. They will come to our back door but only when it's closed. I see them when they come on the CCTV and occasionally, I leave a trail camera out.

I've been trying to find a food that only foxes will eat. The cats that are currently left out at night during the summer have been wreaking havoc with foods I've put out. Again, I see it on the CCTV. The bowl is often emptied early on at night by the cats, not leaving anything for the foxes at times. I've been using raw dog food (our dog is raw fed) and the cats have acquired a taste for it. It got me thinking, what is a cat unlikely to eat? Biscuits, custard creams in particular, the fox loves them. Not an ideal diet but 2 a night won't hurt, I'm sure they eat far worse out of bins and the like.

This week though has been good, all recent things considered, there have been 2 visits, one through the week and one this morning, about 2am.

It was November 2020 that I noticed a fox visiting. He became a friend and I spent many a happy hour with him. My family too spent time with him, my daughter named him.....Oreo. He would often sit or lie in the garden, just feet away, often for an hour or more.

IMG_1415 LR CS6 JP tp.jpg


I was always careful not to unwild him, we got close to that line, I will admit but I never overstepped it.

One problem I had with him from a photography point of view was the light, he rarely came when it was light and I remember those early days, under a tungsten flood light and the horrible casts I would get with it. I changed to LED bulkhead lights, which gave a nicer, whiter light but still not perfect. He only came on one occasion when there was just enough natural light to photograph him.

It wasn't just about photos though....... but you have to try.

We still have other foxes visiting, Oreo's offspring no doubt. They will get their food everynight and maybe when the time is right, I will get them closer again, we'll see. This isn't the end.
 
Dale. said:
No sign for a couple of nights but Foxy returned this morning, 10/11/20, enjoying the dog kibble I'd spread about the yard last night. This was just after 5am, the other morning was 6am, so if the times are there or thereabouts, I predict an early morning vigil with the camera quite soon. I'll be staying in my workshop for stills at first but hopefully, I'll get it from our backdoor in time.

I'll keep putting food out, record the times, then hatch a photography plan.

Apologies for the awful video, we had quite heavy showers through the night, some of which were obviously affecting the camera.



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYEX8QG678M
Click to expand...
When I had a wife, she used to feed quail here. After a time Hungarian partridge came in with them, she always fed in the same spot. Well I finally went out and built a blind with sage brush I could get inside of and left it sit there a while befor trying it out. Got in it with one small opening toward the feed area and in come the birds. I got it and had the wife call them in, she always did that and we could watch run in across the field. Got some good photo'ss of the quail and the huns back then. The blind as a new addition rose suspestion in the birds for several days so don't get in the blind till whatever your trying for get's used to it!
 
Dale. said:
It could be sad times.

I've not seen our original fox now for a good while, probably 2 months or so. I know him, his ways and that little turned down whisker of his. What has happened, I don't know, I'm hoping he has just moved on with the recent influx of other foxes, we have had 3 in the garden at the same time until quite recently, so maybe he's been forced out of his territory. This is wildlife though and the harsh realities that brings are never far from my mind.

You never know, he may just turn up one night, he's done this before, just not for so long.

There are currently the occasional visits from foxes but one at a time now and maybe once, or twice a week. These foxes are far more skittish than our original one was and I've not been able to tell these ones apart, as they don't come close and always turn up at the dead of night. They will come to our back door but only when it's closed. I see them when they come on the CCTV and occasionally, I leave a trail camera out.

I've been trying to find a food that only foxes will eat. The cats that are currently left out at night during the summer have been wreaking havoc with foods I've put out. Again, I see it on the CCTV. The bowl is often emptied early on at night by the cats, not leaving anything for the foxes at times. I've been using raw dog food (our dog is raw fed) and the cats have acquired a taste for it. It got me thinking, what is a cat unlikely to eat? Biscuits, custard creams in particular, the fox loves them. Not an ideal diet but 2 a night won't hurt, I'm sure they eat far worse out of bins and the like.

This week though has been good, all recent things considered, there have been 2 visits, one through the week and one this morning, about 2am.

It was November 2020 that I noticed a fox visiting. He became a friend and I spent many a happy hour with him. My family too spent time with him, my daughter named him.....Oreo. He would often sit or lie in the garden, just feet away, often for an hour or more.

View attachment 398244


I was always careful not to unwild him, we got close to that line, I will admit but I never overstepped it.

One problem I had with him from a photography point of view was the light, he rarely came when it was light and I remember those early days, under a tungsten flood light and the horrible casts I would get with it. I changed to LED bulkhead lights, which gave a nicer, whiter light but still not perfect. He only came on one occasion when there was just enough natural light to photograph him.

It wasn't just about photos though....... but you have to try.

We still have other foxes visiting, Oreo's offspring no doubt. They will get their food everynight and maybe when the time is right, I will get them closer again, we'll see. This isn't the end.
Click to expand...
Boy that's a nice photo !
 
Don Fischer said:
When I had a wife, she used to feed quail here. After a time Hungarian partridge came in with them, she always fed in the same spot. Well I finally went out and built a blind with sage brush I could get inside of and left it sit there a while befor trying it out. Got in it with one small opening toward the feed area and in come the birds. I got it and had the wife call them in, she always did that and we could watch run in across the field. Got some good photo'ss of the quail and the huns back then. The blind as a new addition rose suspestion in the birds for several days so don't get in the blind till whatever your trying for get's used to it!
Click to expand...

Don Fischer said:
Boy that's a nice photo !
Click to expand...


Thank you. (y)
 
Firstly, apologies for the low quality video.

We have had a fox now for a few nights in a row, the change to food less appealing to cats might be working as the bowl isn't empty now when the/a fox turns up. This one is skittish and I don't think it's our original fox (Oreo) but I am 99% sure it's one of his offspring and would be just over a year old, by my reckoning.

I will keep feeding him/them but I'm not sure at the moment I'll be going to the same lengths that I did with our first fox to get him used to me and then take photos. If this one becomes a bit more regular and earlier, when there is some usable light, I might push it but for now, I'm just going to enjoy it.

Trail cam will be out tonight. (y)

View: https://youtu.be/A2F7IyTVy3c
 
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It's just about 7 weeks now since I saw or was aware of any fox in the garden. The cameras have stopped pinging my phone, except for the odd cat overnight. I've not seen a fox in all that time. The fox trail that had been created through next door's garden and our own has grown out and isn't visible anymore.

I'm certain now that our first fox (Oreo) is no more. I eluded to this above but the time span would now confirm it. He was 3 years old, so not a bad run. My hope is he has just moved on with the new influx of young foxes that we had over the last year. Who knows though?

I had given up on the foxes, it was also getting spoiled a little as the local moggies often beat the foxes to the food overnight, as the younger foxes would turn up late in the night, usually around 4am, by which time, the moggies had emptied the bowl. I lost heart, there were no foxes coming and the cats were feasting, something had to give, so the last 2 weeks, I stopped putting food out altogether.

A fox did show up early Sunday morning past, there was no food out though, so it left. I put some past their best sausage rolls out the last few nights since but nothing.

I'll keep an eye on things, the cameras will let me now what happens overnight, if anything. I live in hope.
 
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Even though we don't put any food out now I still used to pick them up on the camera now and then but I haven't seen anything recently either.

Probably a good thing as our dog died a few years ago and we decided not to get another straight away but we have started discussing it again in the last few weeks.

Well the wife never stopped tbh.
 
When I lived in a city I used to see and hear foxes all the time - day and night, males, females and cubs. During 25 years on the edge of a rural village, we have only seen one fox for about a year. The cats generally ignored it and vice versa. We have had quite a few roe deer, especially during lockdown and a badger at the food bowls for our resident feral cats. A pheasant has also recently appeared.
 
Noted ( usual) fox run into garden active a few days back Dale................... not seen anything here for ages now since the cubs left, Shaz caught one here around 2AM last night.think over the years. I'm starting to see a pattern here.

They go away late summer and then start to check us back out as winter comes, no real food out for them Dale but with maybe 60 goldie their waste I guess might be a draw.

A handful of peanuts will go out and so the game starts...oh to not be working all hours and do this properly
 
Stuart Philpott said:
Noted ( usual) fox run into garden active a few days back Dale................... not seen anything here for ages now since the cubs left, Shaz caught one here around 2AM last night.think over the years. I'm starting to see a pattern here.

They go away late summer and then start to check us back out as winter comes, no real food out for them Dale but with maybe 60 goldie their waste I guess might be a draw.

A handful of peanuts will go out and so the game starts...oh to not be working all hours and do this properly
Click to expand...


I may just scatter some peanuts for now Stu, just incase a fox does turn up. The moggies have spoiled it though, that's the main reason i stopped putting food out, as well as there being no foxes. I'd actually forgotten about peanuts, I will put a handful out at night and see, I ahve a bag at the hide that I've not opened.
 
Mike.P said:
What about rats?

Silly question really but you never know.
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It's a good point but in all my years living here (15) and despite living very close to the river I don't recall ever seeing a rat. Putting a few nuts out for the foxes just to keep them keen is probably not much different to leaving my bird feeders out overnight too, when it comes to rats. I have 2 cameras, back and front and they've never pinged for a rat. They have pinged for mice but rarely.

Also, on the opposite river banking is a huge wood, full of grey squirrels but I only recall 2 occasions when I've seen squirrels in our garden. Maybe having always owned a dog/dogs deters them, I'm not sure.

We do get hedghogs, I don't mind them, they often fed from the fox bowl.

Feral pigeons too, they are an absolute menace.
 
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Mike.P said:
What's with the peanuts?
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Mike I'd always suspected foxes were visiting and bringing cubs.usual signs runs cubs trashing plant beds, but never pinned it down . Then back in lockdown just after coming in from an early morn deer sortie we had one of the very few daylight visits mum and cub. That led to LED lightiing and night shoots.there's a thread here somewhere.

But it puzzled me just what was the draw.bar a builders mortar tray of water, which they def used.

The only food here was for birds..A LOT feed here Mike.My lady did a hand count just recent 60 goldfinch.we are a little hovel surrounded by fields so somehow have become a massive draw......anyways the fox were feeding so on what

So that's how we came to discover just how much they adore peanuts.

I stayed there Mike. fed 'em peanuts nowt else.................my foxes are not urban they are rural if I tame 'em they'll be shot, sure as houses.

So made false front door so I could shoot low through a skirt ( IE wrapped around end of lens no glass in the way) and took a month of nights to make the first image...they are close REALLY close betwixt 3 and 8M, so could hear lens Af.which on a DO ii is shocking quiet and would spook

So it took a bit of grinding but in the end broke 'em ahh mate you have no idea how much joy there was seeing sommit on back of camera this one I fink (.Dale hope ya don't mind) Lol that's a month of lying on the deck at night not pressing s shutter.

_S2I2718 cubins smj RL by Stuart Philpott, on Flickr

Fox are crap at eating peanuts so ya get lots of gob shots and cause they seem to love the taste they take time eating. My guess would be don't have the dentition for peanuts Only ever scattered a couple of handfuls



Rats well any food is attractive to brown rat, not just bird food any food beyond that I'll say 3 fings

first with a family of the only mammalian apex pred left in blighty spending hours in one's garden how bad is it going to get rat wise

2nd I'd evoke @Cobra and the lad will tell ya how to deal with a prob if needed

3rd I spent years and years as a pro poultry man.I don't know what Chris does but if I really need I can cope.don't like coping I'm way too soft Mike. but if I need to I can

Country folk have to learn about brown rat if they keep livestock.tis how it is. Urban folks live with 'em but freak out abit when they know they are there, which is a shame they are always there.

Every Autumn rat come in from the fields to seek dry warm places and food in the countryside............ tis how it is if ya live in the sticks

I respect them Mike do not like them AT ALL................... .part of the circle of life though and incredible survivors

not alot different to a red fox really.. ;)

Still don't like rats though:LOL:
 
Well, I'd kind of given up. We could do with some positive vibes at the moment and this morning at 6:18am, it was a joy to see a fox triggering the security cameras. This is the first time in just about 3 months.

I've not been putting food out for about 6 weeks or so, I was just feeding the local moggies. I will put some out tonight, probably biscuits and suchlike, that cats won't eat.

This fox actually looks like our original one. Apologies for the rubbish quality.

View: https://youtu.be/YvZwbF2Bzno
 
.................. and we had another visit last night, so that's twice in under a week. Not the every night I was getting but an improving situation, hopefully the (new) start of more to come. (y)
 
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They'll be back more regularly when they want/need to be. We usually see them MUCH more around breeding season when the easier pickings from semi urban spaces are more attractive.
 
Nod said:
They'll be back more regularly when they want/need to be. We usually see them MUCH more around breeding season when the easier pickings from semi urban spaces are more attractive.
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I'm wondering if this cold snap is driving them in too.

I stopped putting food out just about 6 weeks or so ago. After the visit last week, I've put some out, everynight since. Last night was the first return visit since I started putting food out.

Hopefully, he'll cotton on. (y)
 
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