It’s mating season for the Red Fox. We see their tracks in the snow. We hear them at night, close-by in woods behind our house, yip-yipping to each other. In the daytime, I see them from my office window, trotting across the meadow.
I’m glad they’re here. Foxes are beautiful creatures, and keep the vermin population in check. But, it’s best to take precautions. We’ve been tucking the hens in earlier at night, and waiting until well after sunrise to let them out. And good dog Lily has been letting the foxes know where their turf ends and hers begins.
Thank you for this post. It was like getting an unexpected gift this morning.
Lovely video (thank you) but probably differ about the general wonderfulness of foxes. We have way too many and they use my garden to poop in. Foxes seem to poop even more than hens. Bilbo (my dog) is too much of a wuss to defend his territory as such but he does leave his toys around the boundaries. If I don’t spot them and collect them up, the foxes come in the night and wee on them. It’s then a choice between straight into the bin or hours of soaking in bio-enzymes and disinfectant followed by a boil wash. Foxes in England are just less romantic than foxes in New England!
The foxes can be a problem here, too. However, I think that the coyote population keeps them in check. I don’t think that in England that your foxes have any predators to worry about.
We have both a fox and coyote problem. Like you I put the girls to bed early and let them out late and our solar powered electric fence around the coop and run is a great deterrent!
Amazing video catch! Way to go Lily for protecting HER territory.
Thank you for the audio of the fox call. Now I know who was in my neighborhood the other night. Coyotes and fisher cats – I know their calls, but now I know the fox call.
Thank you Terry.
I was playing this and my husband said it sounded like submarine sonar!
My husband said the same, he came in to see if I was watching “Star Treck!”. I have heard foxes bark but not heard this mating call before. There is always something new to learn here.
A wonderful video! I love that we can still appreciate all kinds of nature but take the necessary precautions. For the first time I’ve had a weasel “hanging out” around my chicken coop this winter. (S)he initially hung out around the bird feeder, looking for voles, squirrels and mice I’m assuming, but when that population thinned (s)he headed towards bigger prey. Such a pretty little creature, all white this time of year, with a black tipped tail. But also very voracious and dangerous to my chickens! I bought a Haveahart trap, but the little devil has been enjoying the raw hamburger and escaping. Poor chickens have been out only a couple of times for less than an hour in the last month with my close supervision. Not sure who will win this contest, me and my chickens or the weasel, but I still appreciate his/her beautiful snow white fur and respect their need for scarce winter food.
That’s a bold weasel if you see her out and about. They are so pretty and lithe, but dangerous, too.
Can’t believe the timing of this, but this is what I heard during the night but couldn’t identify. At first I thought it might be a woman and wondered if I needed to call 911. Then I thought it might be cats mating. Then I thought it might be dogs. I have seen fox twice during the day in my subdivision, but never knew what they sounded like. Thanks for solving the mystery!