Not in my back yard ... surely? *We have EVEN MORE cubs!*

Diving Pete said:
Well the young fox has entertained me greatly for the last 3 weeks - even brought her dad & sister around !!
She is exceptionally comfortable sitting outside my front door... so I have decided to try flash tonight.. - after all it has to be better than 16k ISO !

Fox Flash-2 by Pete Smith, on Flickr

Enjoying a piece of cheese.
Fox Flash-5 by Pete Smith, on Flickr

Fox Flash-8 by Pete Smith, on Flickr

Nothing like a success.. lol. Very, very happy with her. At one point she sat down in front of me (2ish ft-) with her back to me to just watch the cars go by.
Wasn't worried by the flash at all.
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Great when you get a sort of trust. :)
 
gramps said:
Great when you get a sort of trust. :)
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Do you think she may have been hand reared or similar?

The other possibility as that we are witnessing the first stages of domestication as has been recently proposed for dogs -- it‘s suggested that the individuals of the extinct species of wolf from which dogs evolved that had a reduced flight response gradually found it beneficial to feed around human habitations etc etc. And we know from those Russian studies on fur farms that foxes can become tame over a few generations.
 
sphexx said:
Do you think she may have been hand reared or similar?
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I doubt hand reared but in towns/cities many people welcome them and feed them so they associate people (or certain people/locations) with food. There is no doubt that some ill-informed but possibly well intentioned people have allowed/encouraged them to enter their homes and that would see similar behaviour. 'My' dog Fox would undoubtedly enter the home if allowed ... he has been stopped a couple of times when the back door was left marginally open (before we realised he would and he couldn't get far as the inner door was closed).
 
sphexx said:
Do you think she may have been hand reared or similar?

The other possibility as that we are witnessing the first stages of domestication as has been recently proposed for dogs -- it‘s suggested that the individuals of the extinct species of wolf from which dogs evolved that had a reduced flight response gradually found it beneficial to feed around human habitations etc etc. And we know from those Russian studies on fur farms that foxes can become tame over a few generations.
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The former not hand reared persay Rich but she knows someone that maybe looks like Pete who has been feeding her, well that's my take on it anyway ;) . The behaviour is utterly strange without a food tie in it just has to be there.

Fascinating is't it, we'll never know the answers though:)

stu
 
Before this week I'd not given her any food - As I said my dogs are more than ready to go - lol
But I am happy to now give her food.
Every night she is waiting for me, if she is down the road, then i can whistle and she comes and sits in front of the doorstep..
It is REALLY STRANGE... If I walk across the road, she will follow me ! anyone else seems to get the vanishing act... I truly have no idea why, but you would have to see it to believe it..
Ill put money she is waiting for me tonight - & the flash doesn't phase her even a little.
 
I don't think there is a chance of her being hand reared - I've seen DAD & he is a bruiser... The others in the family are a lot more skittish & wary although all have been on my doorstep..
 
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I'm going to try and get a video tonight of her following me walking my dog.. She did the trip last night ! This so needs to go on utube - lol
 
Ok this is where it gets really weird.. We were followed by her sister - then joined by Copper so both were following .... ha ha ha.
I have some short videos to upload today.. They are not the best - ill work on better but will give you an idea.
 
very enjoyable....I feed 3 farm cats - there is always some food left in their bowls; which is gone by morning
Many years ago I saw (only once) a fox feeding there in the evening
I'm interested to see if one is around again. Where do i get a cheap .? are they water proof ?
and what food - other than the cat food.?

thanks

BTW a comment was made about cats jaw width - I have a pic of one on my cats carrying off a squirrel - a grey (y)
 
Yardbent said:
very enjoyable....I feed 3 farm cats - there is always some food left in their bowls; which is gone by morning
Many years ago I saw (only once) a fox feeding there in the evening
I'm interested to see if one is around again. Where do i get a cheap .? are they water proof ?
and what food - other than the cat food.?

thanks

BTW a comment was made about cats jaw width - I have a pic of one on my cats carrying off a squirrel - a grey (y)
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There are a number of cheap and cheerful ones on eBay & Amazon, prices varying from around £30-£80.
They aren't 'waterproof' but should stand up to British weather reasonably well.
I think the comment about the cat's jaw was more in terms of the power of the jaw to kill rather than catch & carry :)
 
gramps said:
There are a number of cheap and cheerful ones on eBay & Amazon, prices varying from around £30-£80.
They aren't 'waterproof' but should stand up to British weather reasonably well.
I think the comment about the cat's jaw was more in terms of the power of the jaw to kill rather than catch & carry :)
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Yes, ‘twas I wrote “cats don’t seem to have big enough jaws to quickly kill a large rat”, my emphasis. All guesswork on my part, but “your” cat was carrying a live rat which is a recipe for getting bitten if the rat is big enough and can twist round (squirrels ditto). We know how how terriers kill rats but I doubt there’s been much observation of domestic cats killing them ... now there‘s an idea — ratting with cats :).
 
sphexx said:
Yes, ‘twas I wrote “cats don’t seem to have big enough jaws to quickly kill a large rat”, my emphasis. All guesswork on my part, but “your” cat was carrying a live rat which is a recipe for getting bitten if the rat is big enough and can twist round (squirrels ditto). We know how how terriers kill rats but I doubt there’s been much observation of domestic cats killing them ... now there‘s an idea — ratting with cats :).
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I don't know what happened to the rat caught by the neighbour's cat but we don't currently have any rats in the garden ... so whether he killed it or gave it a good talking to, I now welcome him in the garden! :LOL:
 
Yardbent said:
my semi-feral cat killed a grey with one bite across the neck
.
View attachment 298509
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I grew up, 6 to 17 years old, on a mixed, cows, pigs and poultry, smallholding in Cornwall in the 1950's and early 60's. We had two tortoiseshell females, mother and daughter, who were excellent ratters. This was the method that they used, especially if the rat was the same size or larger than they were.
 
Earley Man said:
I grew up, 6 to 17 years old, on a mixed, cows, pigs and poultry, smallholding in Cornwall in the 1950's and early 60's. We had two tortoiseshell females, mother and daughter, who were excellent ratters. This was the method that they used, especially if the rat was the same size or larger than they were.
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Years ago we had a stray cat turn up and start living wild in our garden, feeding herself on the local rabbit population, which included killing full grown rabbits whenever she could catch them. She'd carry them away somewhere quiet, like that cat was doing with the grey squirrel, with the rabbit's body dragging on the floor between her front legs, and once she'd had her fill she'd bury what was left under some fir trees (to keep the flies and and scavengers off it) and come back to the carcase once she felt hungry again. We took her in and adopted her in the end, she really was a very special cat, so kind-natured and loving. She was a sizable cat too, about the size of a Maine Coon cat.
 
Lol, they really did spook each other.

What is the attraction with the holly for the young vixen?
 
Dale. said:
Lol, they really did spook each other.

What is the attraction with the holly for the young vixen?
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Yes Malted Milk biscuits, or in this case, mini fatballs with mealworms. :)
 
A bit of footage from another angle ... one of the Bushnell cameras that I bought as a job lot of 5 for £27.
Not the quality of the Browning as it's a much older camera but it is very sensitive so doesn't miss much and does expand the available view.
Anyway, more of the young Vixen taking the fat balls from the Holly bush. the first two clips from early evening and the last a little bit later ... the bush is fairly hollow in the middle due to taking the top off earlier in the year and she nearly falls in! :LOL:


 
The Browning camera has been less sensitive to movement in recent weeks unfortuntely.
Since getting the old 'job-lot' of cameras, the old Bushnell is highlighting just what it is missing, often missing a Fox or Badger walking across in front of it, sometimes even two animals.
This little bit of footage from the old Bushnell shows what happened when one of the Foxes stumbled across one of the neighbour's cats ... nothing before, during or after was caught on the Browning despite it being right in its field of view and range and the amount of movement between the two animals.
I think it is going to have to go back. :(

 
gramps said:
The Browning camera has been less sensitive to movement in recent weeks unfortuntely.
Since getting the old 'job-lot' of cameras, the old Bushnell is highlighting just what it is missing, often missing a Fox or Badger walking across in front of it, sometimes even two animals.
This little bit of footage from the old Bushnell shows what happened when one of the Foxes stumbled across one of the neighbour's cats ... nothing before, during or after was caught on the Browning despite it being right in its field of view and range and the amount of movement between the two animals.
I think it is going to have to go back. :(

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More interesting stuff! Sad about the camera. It doesn’t sound likely but is it anything to do with the a delay after recording something before it activates again? I’ve had that happen with my security camera and Ring door bell camera.
 
sphexx said:
More interesting stuff! Sad about the camera. It doesn’t sound likely but is it anything to do with the a delay after recording something before it activates again? I’ve had that happen with my security camera and Ring door bell camera.
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The 'Trigger Speed' is set to 'Fast' (it doesn't have a 'delay' setting but 'Fast' = 0.3 sec according to spec) and previously has been so good that it has detected head movement and hence it's been almost like continuous footage. Now there are vast gaps between clips with animals being in entirely different locations between clips. I can cope with that but when I see whole sections of activity being completely missed that's not good.
I make sure that the camera is kept clean so the PIR Fresnel lens is always free of dirt & debris and it is connected to an external battery supply so never runs low on power availability.
 
Another from the old Bushnell (the Browning didn't work at all last night and will be going back).
The young Vixen grabs 2 x fatballs and makes off behind the hedge but later comes back for a Malted Milk biscuit which is just too good to wait to eat. :LOL:
She doesn't appreciate that the bush isn't 'producing' goodies so climbs up again to check for more!

 
gramps said:
Another from the old Bushnell (the Browning didn't work at all last night and will be going back).
The young Vixen grabs 2 x fatballs and makes off behind the hedge but later comes back for a Malted Milk biscuit which is just too good to wait to eat. :LOL:
She doesn't appreciate that the bush isn't 'producing' goodies so climbs up again to check for more!

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Roger, just lovely to see.

I'm just wondering, what are your thoughts on trailcams? I'm considering one now too and looking for recommendations.
 
Dale. said:
Roger, just lovely to see.

I'm just wondering, what are your thoughts on trailcams? I'm considering one now too and looking for recommendations.
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Thanks Dale.
When I first received the Browning Secure Force Edge at £169, (they now do a 4K version for around £240), it was superb, the video was better than any of the Chinese ones I used and it didn't miss a beat, the only downside was max 20 secs at night but because it was so good it would quickly sense movement again and continue almost seamlessly. Over the past 8 weeks or so it has started to miss movement noticeably and that's why it's going back ... I hope it will be returned as was.
On past performance I wouldn't look anywhere else.
The old Bushnell (2015 version I think) has superb detection and night video clips of up to 60 secs, which is brilliant (it's so easy to miss 'that' moment with just 20 secs) but as can be seen from the above the video quality isn't anywhere near up to the Browning. That said, new Bushnells have two cameras, one for day and one for night and that will be an immense improvement but the field of view has been reduced to something like 35 degrees, which is quite narrow in use in a garden; they are also much more expensive ('Core' series) at around £300+.
I hope it's just one of those things with my Browning, as for the first few months it has been great.
 
gramps said:
Thanks Dale.
When I first received the Browning Secure Force Edge at £169, (they now do a 4K version for around £240), it was superb, the video was better than any of the Chinese ones I used and it didn't miss a beat, the only downside was max 20 secs at night but because it was so good it would quickly sense movement again and continue almost seamlessly. Over the past 8 weeks or so it has started to miss movement noticeably and that's why it's going back ... I hope it will be returned as was.
On past performance I wouldn't look anywhere else.
The old Bushnell (2015 version I think) has superb detection and night video clips of up to 60 secs, which is brilliant (it's so easy to miss 'that' moment with just 20 secs) but as can be seen from the above the video quality isn't anywhere near up to the Browning. That said, new Bushnells have two cameras, one for day and one for night and that will be an immense improvement but the field of view has been reduced to something like 35 degrees, which is quite narrow in use in a garden; they are also much more expensive ('Core' series) at around £300+.
I hope it's just one of those things with my Browning, as for the first few months it has been great.
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Cheers Roger. I've been looking around, I'm guessing it's best to avoid the cheaper ones as longevity might be an issue. I may invest in a decent brand soon if I decide I need one.

I'm currently using security cameras (Blink) and they're doing OK, I even got colour footage last night by using 2 more security lights. I don't think the resolution is quite there though and I think a decent trailcam would be more suited.
 
footman said:
Disappointing to hear about the Browning, I have the same trail cam, bought it about a month ago and I have found it to be excellent. Good luck solving the problems with it.
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Hopefully it's just a temporary glitch Laurence as it's a great camera when it's working as it should. :)
 
Browning on its way back to NatureSpy for investigation/repair, hope it won't take too long.
On the plus side regarding the 5 trailcams I bought on eBay for £27 ... I've just sold the 2 non-working ones on eBay on a £1 listing and cleared £24 after posting, strange world. :LOL:
 
Even busy Foxes have to have a break sometimes :LOL:



and a bit more fatball collecting from the young Vixen :)

 
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That fox is totally at home.

No sign of mine last night, hope he's ok.
 
Dale. said:
That fox is totally at home.

No sign of mine last night, hope he's ok.
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I get at least three every night plus one or two Badgers but they don't work to a plan!
Did you put anything out for yours?
 
gramps said:
I get at least three every night plus one or two Badgers but they don't work to a plan!
Did you put anything out for yours?
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Yup, maybe mine had had a feast somewhere at some point yesterday and went to ground early. It does worry me though, as at least twice a week, I hear gunshots on the nearby estate.

I do feed it, I started with some old but still in date dog kibble. long story short, we switched our pup to raw foods a while ago and I had some kibble left over. The fox didn't seem interested in that though (although the hedgehogs were) so I started leaving a raw chicken wing or 2 out for the fox at night, which it soon scoffed. I left some lamb ribs out for it last night but it was still there this morning, with a big, fat crow on it.

Fingers crossed for tonight. It had been coming in every other night or so, then this last few nights, several times a night but no sign of it last night.
 
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