Category Archives: wildlife

The Fox Cubs

Blasdale Home Posted on by

30th June 2023

It has been a long while since I posted a video about our fox cubs. This five-minute video shows the fox cubs still with the Vixen down at our waterhole. The timeline is from mid-end June.

On the waterhole (pond) you can see a pair of moorhens racing around the pond, and preening. In one shot at about 32 seconds in you can see a fox cub on the bank, and the moorhens in the pond.

At 45 seconds in, a Muntjac (?) deer makes an appearance, after which we see a Vixen and her two cubs walking along the bank in the darkness.

During daylight hours, a grey heron comes fishing and catches a small unidentified morsal of food from the pond.

More fox cubs and their mother appear during daylight and darkness, often to come for a drink from the pond.

A Greater Spotted Woodpecker appears at 3.15. It hangs around entertaining us for a few seconds.

Not so nice is Ratty at 4.45.

Finally, a Jay comes for a drink.

The Fox Cubs

Blasdale Home Posted on by

26th May 2023

This week’s fox cub video was a success. The battery did not fail, and I was able to capture footage of three cubs playing and exploring their immediate surroudnings. I moved the camera partway through the week to a lower vantage point, which allowed me to get better shots of the cubs.

There were originally two vixens and six cubs, but this week I saw only three cubs and no vixens. I believe one vixen has moved home. Towards the end of the week, only one cub remained by the den. I believe the other two cubs have begun to explore a larger area. Last year, they were often seen sleeping under the willow trees. There are also many other large holes on this side of the earth mound and the other sides of the mound.

I am eager to receive my new camera trap. The model I ordered is currently on back order, but I am hopeful that it will arrive soon. In the meantime, I will continue to monitor the fox cubs with my current camera.

I am also pleased to report that the rabbits have returned to the area. They were seen exploring the fox den several times this week. I believe the cubs are not a threat to the rabbits. Too small, or ignorant, to hunt?

The Fox Cubs

Blasdale Home Posted on by

19th May 2023

The video of the fox cubs this week was cut short due to camera battery failure. The batteries were depleted quickly due to the high activity during the night. Unfortunately, most of the night-time footage was discarded in favour of the daylight scenes. We have six fox cubs in total, with two vixens and four and two cubs respectively (we think). Although we have seen all six cubs together, only five are visible in this video. Four of them play together while the other two are slightly smaller with darker fur and can be seen together. A fox cub was spotted sunning itself on top of the compost heap. We suspect there may be more fox cubs in the compost heap and we need another camera trap to investigate.

Fox Cub sunning itsef on the compost heap

The Fox Cubs

Blasdale Home Posted on by

12th May 2023

The Fox Cubs continue to grow and flourish. This week I haven’t seen the whole litter of six together, but the younger pair and the older quartet are often active. The older ones still nurse from their mother, who tries to wean them off by bringing them small prey. They pounce on her and suckle whenever they can.

They enjoy wrestling and biting each other. They also venture out in the daylight, playing and making noises.