Caught on Camera: Fox

Well, what a surprise ...

We had a hunch we had been entertaining a night visitor, but had not anticipated something as large as a fox. 

The (Trailcam) camera never lies! 

As you can see, the visit above took place a couple of months ago on 1 June 2022. The middle photo was taken on 16 June 2022. 

These are my first records of a fox in the garden (as opposed to a fox in our street), which brings my garden mammal species up to a current total of seven. 

Our garden is pretty dog-proof, and we are wondering how the fox has been getting in (and out again) ...

 

My First Water Vole sighting of the year

A prominent ripple was the first clue to animal activity at RSPB Minsmere ...

 ... We were delighted when the ripple was followed by a Water Vole, swimming in front of us.

The creature tucked itself into a niche under the footbridge ...

... and began chewing a reed.

Just look at the difference in size between the front claws and the back ones! The front paws leave a star-shaped print in the mud.

I rotated the two photos above by 90 degrees to allow for an easier view. Water Voles always remind me of Ratty in The Wind in the Willows, who had his own rowing boat.

These beautiful animals are a protected species in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981. They are also listed as a Priority Species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Water Voles declined drastically in the 20th century, initially on account of invasive farming practices and then as a result of the spread of American Mink.

I have logged the sighting on the Wildlife Trusts' sightings form.

It was a good afternoon for mammals. There were large quantities of rabbits and their young out in the sunshine.

They were hopping about and sitting peacefully when there was sudden pandemonium in the ranks. David (who has posted his own Water Vole photo) watched a stoat chasing one of their number into the thicket of bramble and gorse. I missed the stoat, but saw white tails bobbing in all directions.   

There were plenty of red deer about. I have only just noticed the rabbit to the left. 

The BBC Springwatch team will be back here before long.

Fox-watching on a Winter's afternoon

The Rotunda at NT Ickworth

We saw our first fox of 2015 at Ickworth last weekend. We had had a lovely afternoon in Geraldine's Wood, looking for snowdrops and aconites, and decided to move to a more open part of the estate before the light gave way. The fox was small and active. It sat, then ran, then scampered back and sat for a moment. However, what interested me most was its pale colouring, which does not show up very well on these record shots.

I think you will see, however, that there is quite a large pointed area of white fur at the side of the neck. Apparently the fur above the brush is sometimes a grey colour, as can be seen in my photo below.

I found a fox colour chart, and discovered that foxes come in many classified shades.

Seasonal First: Hare Sighting

I can testify to the fact that our Mad March Hares are out and about. We were driving home through the Suffolk countryside in the Sudbury area when we alighted on a couple of hares. By the time we had found somewhere safe to park, I was only able to take a quick couple of record snaps. This is the better of the two!

We have only seen hares once before since our arrival in East Anglia, and that was last year at WWT Welney in the Fens. However, I hope to see many more sightings of these iconic creatures, with their black-tipped ears and strong hind legs. Unlike rabbits, hares do not have burrows. They live above ground.

We saw some beautiful rabbits recently (like the one below), and, although you cannot tell from these photos, the rabbits seem very small in comparison with their larger Leporidae cousins.

Mammals seen in 2013, January - early March ...

1] Grey Squirrel - Minsmere
2] Rabbit - Minsmere
3] Hare - Sudbury area
4] Red Deer - Minsmere, Rendlesham Forest
5] Muntjac Deer - Minsmere

Beautiful Birds (39): 2012 Species List

Mute Swans near Mistley Towers and Manningtree, Essex, UK

I think I won't count numbers so much this year as species. The species marked thus: [L] are my 'lifers' or first (conscious) sightings. There are, for example, so many pigeons outside our window that I have decided to list each species of bird only once at the time of my earliest sighting.

This was my list for January and February 2011. I don't imagine the next couple of days will find me seeing many of the following which were on the list a year ago and which I have yet to see in 2012:

Snipe | Dunnock | Nuthatch | Teal | Redstart | Shoveler
 Treecreeper | Little Grebe

Chaffinch (I might yet see this fellow!)
Siskin | Wood Pigeon | Hen Harrier | Greenfinch

Gadwall | Tufted Duck | Wren
Great Spotted woodpecker
Song Thrush | Greenshank | Redshank

The discrepancy for those who are new to my blog is probably largely due to our move last Autumn from South Wales to Suffolk on the east coast of England. It is partly due to my current 'garden-less' lifestyle, to the fact that I was in America for two weeks in January and then pretty much confined to base by the snow and ice.

2012 bird species seen to date  . . .

1. JANUARY Feral Pigeon (USA and Suffolk, UK)
2. Starling (Liberty Island, NY, USA) Jan 2012 [red conservation status in the UK]
3. Egret (wetlands outside New York, USA . . . hard to tell which species, I think 'Little') 
4. Red-tailed Hawk (NY, USA) [L]
5. House Sparrow (Liberty Island, NY, USA) [red conservation status in the UK]
6. Mute Swan (Mistley, Essex, UK)
7. Shelduck (ditto)
8. Bar-tailed Godwit (ditto)
9. Common Sandpiper (ditto)
10. Carrion Crow (ditto)
11. Ring-billed Gulls (rivers Hudson and Delaware, USA) [L]
12. Canada Goose (river Delaware, USA)
13. FEBRUARY Blue-tit (Flatford Mill, Suffolk, UK)
14. Goldfinch - a flock (Flatford Mill, Suffolk, UK)
15. Moorhen (Flatford Mill, Suffolk, UK)
16. Rook (Flatford Mill, Suffolk, UK) 
17. Buzzard (Suffolk, UK)
18. Red Kite (Kirby Hall, Northants, UK)
19. Long-tailed Tits (Suffolk, UK)
20. Robin (Suffolk, UK)
21. Redwing (Suffolk, UK) red conservation status
22. Fieldfare (Suffolk, UK) red conservation status
23. Mallard (Flatford Mill, Suffolk, UK)
24. Blackbird (Flatford Mill, Suffolk, UK)
25. Great Tit (Flatford Mill, Suffolk, UK)
26. Coot (Flatford Mill, Suffolk, UK)
27. Magpie (Suffolk, UK)
28. Greylag Goose (Shotley peninsula, Suffolk, UK)
29. Cormorant (River Orwell, Suffolk, UK) 
30. Pied Wagtail (Ipswich, Suffolk, UK)
31. Black-headed Gull (Ipswich, Suffolk, UK)
32. Herring Gull (Ipswich, Suffolk, UK) red conservation status
33. Lapwing (Orwell Bridge, Suffolk, UK) red conservation status
34. Oystercatcher (Orwell Bridge, Suffolk, UK)
35. Lesser Black-backed Gull (Suffolk, UK)
36. Wigeon (Suffolk, UK)
37. Red-legged Partridge (Shingle Street, Suffolk, UK)
38. Pheasant (Shingle Street, Suffolk, UK)
39. MARCH Brent Goose (a flock on Mersea Island, Essex, UK)

I hope to make a new Wordle list once I reach the end of February.

What else have I seen? Well, not much in the way of mammals or insects.
A quick round-up ...

• Seals (two, off Suffolk coast, UK)
• Grey Squirrel (New York, USA)
• Rabbits (Suffolk, UK)
• Molehills - fresh, but no moles seen (Northants, UK)
• ?Stoat hole (Northants, UK)
• Midges (Along the River Stour, Flatford, Suffolk, UK)
• ?Red Spider Mite (Cambridgeshire, UK)
• Snails (Northants, UK)
• Slipper Shell (Shingle Street, Suffolk, UK)

Have you had any interesting or unusual wildlife encounters in 2012?