As I was headed across the kitchen this morning to go to the porch, a blur of motion outside caught my attention. A fox right near the house. With a dead squirrel. The best kind of squirrel in my opinion. Quick, where is my camera? This may not be heady stuff to you bloggers up in Wisconsin and Minnesota, but this is a nature show at its finest here in Delaware. This first picture does not include the prize, so if you don't want to see dead squirrel, please check out some other post and come back later.
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| Successful fox, 3/28/2012 |
I don't think I missed the actual catch but by a couple of moments. Here the fox is about to pick up the squirrel that is hidden by the liriope. He may have actually hidden in that bed at the base of the ash tree.
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| Look Ma, I actually caught one! |
It was a beautiful young fox. Nice markings, black ears, no mange. The fox had to make sure that this squirrel was not going anywhere.
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| Better find out if I can move this thing |
He moved his prize to the middle of the yard and sat back down to start sampling. All this activity attracted a crow that flew in and perched in the ash tree. The crow cawed, probably hoping the fox would run off.
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| Forget it, this one is mine |
The fox stayed in the yard for 15 or 20 minutes. Then it did me a huge favor by picking up the squirrel to probably take it home to show off to the other young foxes. So I didn't even have to deal with the aftermath.
Quite an unusual start to the day.
Wow! He stayed that long without getting spooked? He's quite a handsome fellow...but don't tell him how to get to my house. We don't need anymore holes dug in our fields! :)
ReplyDeleteWOW! I grew up on a farm and other than running through the woods, I never got to see one hunt like that! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteTell him I have lots more in my garden if he'd like to come by for dessert. :-D
ReplyDeleteAlica, I was amazed at how long he stuck around. If there had been bigger predators, he may have ended up as breakfast. Clint, my timing was lucky. Twenty minutes difference in either direction and I would have missed all traces of the show. Melissa, I hope he liked it and gets more. I am thinking of making blinds at the bases of the trees where the foxes could hide while stalking squirrels :-) Joined your blog this morning.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this one, as well as two others a lot this spring. I've been working from home quite often, and have setup my office in the den with the huge window looking out to the yard. These guys love to bask in the sun - and every day go down to the creek for a drink.
ReplyDeleteThe other fun siting I had last week was our Red Tailed Hawk, who flew straight down to my pachysandra and ripped something apart. Quite interesting watching nature at it's best.
Thanks so much for sharing!