It is a Big World

End of the day.

Dad keeps an eye on the Fox kits as they romp around a field last evening. One of the best shoots I have been on, two days of baby foxes, love, love this time of year.

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Out foxing a Fox kit.

Mother Fox had a frustrating problem after investing the time to bring home the bacon, so to speak, her little fox kits would not eat it. They grabbed the dead rabbit from her, ran with it, played with it and fought over it but they won't eat it. She gave the same rabbit to each kit at different intervels during the evening not one of them would eat it. So what does Mom do? She uses a little pshycology and eats it herself but she won't let them have a bite. I have a hunch it was a different story the next time she offered up rabbit dinner. Unfortunately it was our last day with the foxes so we didn't get to see how long it took before they became meat eaters.

Eat, sleep and play.

That is ninety nine percent of a Fox Kits life at a month old. We laughed and giggled as my husband and I viewed the playful kits through our lens. Sorry about the watermark I have had so many Fox Kit photos taken from my Photostream it is rediculous and very annoying. I think we could approach Flickr as a group and put an end to it. Let me know if you are interested.

Fur-babies

These little sweethearts have two more siblings all similar in colour, their Mother is a Silver Fox. Their daily routine was to nurse when Mom returned from hunting, chase each other or anything that moved for up to 30 mins, then flop down exhausted and sleep for a few hours...then a couple hours later do it all again.

Silver Fox

The Silver Fox is is a melanistic form of the Red Fox. This one of two silver females we saw. Fox kits are coming soon hopefully tomorrow, I have a lot of sorting to do.

Two Chicks annd Mom

The chick on the right is now at least 24 hours old the one on the left was hatched the night before or early morning. The 1st 24 hours the newly hatch seem to prefer to sleep, maintain the egg shape and do not eat. Mom or Dad will carefully straddle the chicks, talons in a tight ball as not to injure while using their fists to gently push or encourage them together. The adult will spread their chest feathers until full and fluffy then slowly in a rocking motion lower themselfs on to the chicks. The oldest chick liked to poke its head out but Mom would pull a piece of moss or grass in front of it forcing it back to the safety of her down. Amazing to witness how such a fierce raptor can be so gentle, I learned so much in the three days.

Hanging in the wind.

The male is bring a fish to the nest while the female incubates two eggs, they would change every 2-4 hours. What we didn't know at the time was one of the chicks had hatched, we were moments away from seeing it for the first time.

Protecting the nest site.

The chase is constantly on for all raptors, gulls, crows, ravens, and vultures, even if these trespassers have no interest in the nest they can not fly over it without a serious confrontation. Once there is any type of chase the screaming begins and doesn't end until the trespasser is long gone. This is the male who just returned from a chase the nest is directly below, the female was on the nest at the time.

Two perfect eggs.

We have just returned from an amazing three days of photographing an Eagle family. The chicks hatched approx 24 hours apart during some of the worst weather I have ever seen in April. Incredible to watch the parents keep the chicks warm and protected with a wonderful gentle touch. Lots more photos and videos coming as I sort through all the photos my husband and I took.