These blogs are my non-cave photos and stories. The older ones are taken from my Multiply site, which closed in March 2013. I have a 2nd blog for the SE Asia cave items and a 3rd blog for non SE Asia caves.
Every Spring I look out for the arrival of fox cubs. I normally see them in mid May, although last year, 2021, I saw them in early April. I mentioned that I had seen them earlier that year as they seemed to be living under the shed in front of my window, rather than in a den further away. See my blog of the dates.
So in 2022 I started looking out for the cubs. My favourite fox, who was a parent last year, and would come for food every afternoon and spend hours sitting under my window, disappeared in mid April. I guess she/he died. One of last year's cubs would often compete with her for food. This is her snoozing below my window -
I kept looking out and listening for any sign of cubs. I noticed that 2 of the foxes who come for food were taking food away so I assumed they were feeding some youngsters in a den. One of those was last year's cub, which surprised me.
On 9 May I looked out late afternoon and saw a cub following a fox. I grabbed my camera and only managed to get one shot before they went out of view. They then appeared below my window and to my amazement, the older fox was last year's cub. Was this the parent?
The 2021 cub is still quite small. It has always been a real character, like a precocious child, very adventurous and a dominant little character. It would compete for food against adult foxes and certainly knew how to stand up for itself. So in a way I wasn't surprised it had become a parent in its first year. See red fox breeding. It had always liked to climb and had no fear of heights, here it is on shed roofs last August -
After seeing the one and only cub on 9 May, I was away for a week. After my return there was still no sign of it, though the parent was still running off with food.
In my blog from last year I mentioned how crows and magpies became very vocal in May and June, as if trying to remove potential predators from their chicks. The same thing is happening this year. The magpies are squawking a lot, especially when a fox appears. The foxes take no notice. But the magpies are persistent and even harass and attack the foxes tail.
After this attack the fox jumped up onto a storage container
I'll continue to look out for more fox cub sightings. I know a few foxes have disappeared recently, mainly those with mange, as well as my afore mentioned favourite. So maybe there were less cubs born this year.
--
UPDATE
Didn't see the cub again until 3 weeks later, 29 May. And on subsequent days, it seemed to be with this fox, who is the second of the two who come for food. So I wonder if they are both the parents. I've seen the smaller one roll over onto its back when greeting the larger one.
Thankfully the magpie squawking only lasted a week or so.
2023 :
Haven't seen any fox cubs this year which is unusual, and only a couple of timid foxes come round for food. So there have been no magpies screaming at the foxes this year. However a crow has been squawking at foxes since May 17.
I saw the first fox cub on Easter Sunday, 4 April 2021. That's about 6 weeks earlier than normal.
Normally I first see the fox cubs in mid May, this has been consistent for the last 4 years. In 2020 it was the 12 May; 2019 17 May; 2018 on 17th May & in 2017 on 15 May.
In 2021 I was excited to see the first cub on April 4. I then saw 3 on the 7th. They were much smaller than when I normally first see them. They were also noticably darker. This is because their fur is very short and dark when born, normally in March, but by the time I see them in May, the coat has lightened in colour.
I later realised why I had seen them so early - they all seem to be living under the shed in front of my windows. In previous years they had been born in dens somewhere in the allotments and I only saw them when mum let them out after a few weeks. But this year I was particularly lucky in seeing them probably soon after their eyes had opened.
"Newborn fox cubs are blind, deaf, dark-grey in colour and weigh about 120g. After 14 days, their eyes open. Their pupils are slate-blue. Guard hairs appear, giving cubs a fuzzy appearance. They have small, floppy ears and weigh about 350g. After four weeks, the cub’s pupils are grey flecked with brown. The muzzle starts to lengthen. White fur appears around the mouth and patches of red on the face. The coat is still woolly, but the ears are now erect. After eight weeks, the pupils become amber-coloured and the cub’s face approaches adult proportions. Its fur is largely adult colour but still looks woolly."
Video of little wobbly legs on 17 April -
As the days progressed, I noticed there were some tiny cubs and some older ones, but they were all playing together. I don't know if the really small ones were just younger or if they are the runts! Quite often the bigger ones would just knock over the tiny ones, especially if rushing for food. They all seemed to be eating solids.
They were still suckling from mum. This mum has about 6 cubs all trying to feed with another 2 or so playing nearby, they are of different sizes so I don't know if they are all hers.
This vixen is suckling just 2 cubs -
Some of the smaller cubs lie on their backs to feed.
One of the younger cubs in the morning sunlight, it still has the fuzzy appearance -
and a possible sibling -
A bigger cub -
One of the parents -
Two parents and 3 cubs -
Cubs start eating solids at about 4 weeks. This one is eating a piece of pizza
This vixen is suckling 8 or 9 cubs, they don't keep still long enough to count. They seem to be of different ages so are probably not all hers -
I'll add photos as I get them.
***
June update :
By June the cubs were much more independent. However I did see a few of them trying to suckle from mum on 10 June, though mum wasn't so patient by then. The runts were still noticeably smaller than their siblings. One of the mums seemed to have a favourite who was often alongside her and would be allowed to take food or was given food.
Foxes are usually silent except during mating time. But one of the mums has become quite vocal. She calls a lot, I guess it is the equivalent of a dog barking or giving a yap to get attention. However the fox's call is quite high pitched and more like a cat. This mum has learnt to call when she wants food. She knows when humans are around, and sits and waits for food, giving a call now and again. And I watched one lady putting food down for the foxes, with the vixen sitting nearby calling, as if to say hurry up!
During May and early June, one or maybe two really annoying crows would caw loudly at the foxes. It would sit on the fence above the fox and just scream at it. The foxes would take no notice. Occasionally the crows would almost dive bomb the foxes. I don't know if it was because the crows had youngsters or a nest nearby - I don't know where the crows nest. The rest of the year this behaviour doesn't happen. Thankfully the crowd stopped this by mid June.
Magpies are also screeching at foxes this time of year, so I guess they have babies as well. The magpies often sit on the ground near a fox screaming at it, and sometimes even pecking the back end of the fox.
Another day there was an awful ruckus. It sounded as if every magpie in the neighbourhood was screeching, then lots of crows joined in (crows and magpies are normally "enemies") and there was also a fox "screaming". It sounded like a war. I got my binoculars and saw one fox sniffing at some black feathers. So I assume a fox managed to catch a magpie and ate it, then other foxes came to sniff the leftovers.
**
In July, the mums start competing with the cubs for food.
October is when the young foxes leave their families to go alone. And start growing their winter coat.
I get a lot of pleasure watching the antics of this year's fox cubs. They took a liking to exploring and playing hide and seek on a neighbour's patio chairs. And one cub would just sit in a chair -
Fortunately I didn't see the kill, just saw this fox cub eating the remains of a wood pigeon. The cub is about 2 months old.
My first blog about this year's youngsters was Fox cubs 2020. There seem to be 5 cubs.
I later did a blog on foxes, pigeons and squirrels together. Occasionally the cubs would show interest in birds and squirrels, but I've never seen the adults pay any notice. So I don't know who made the kill in the video.
All that remained -
Normally the cubs are on the ground and the pigeons on this box, but on one occasion, the roles were reversed and the cub was on the box -
Foxes are carnivores /omnivores and their diet would naturally include birds and small mammals.
However the urban foxes must be sufficiently well fed that they have no interest in preying on birds.
In fact the foxes, squirrels and pigeons all feed together.
In this photo the pigeons are on a box, but sometimes they are on the ground close to the fox. And the squirrel doesn't feel trapped by the adult fox.
This photo taken in June is a fox cub who is ignoring the pigeon on the ground. When I first saw the cubs in mid May they would chase the pigeons.
I've noticed that the squirrels and pigeons were initially wary of the young fox cubs, so at least they haven't completely lost their fear of foxes. And the young cubs initially do chase the other animals, so this prey instinct is part of their nature.
This is an older photo of a fox and cat ignoring each other
The only animals that object to the foxes are the crows. They start cawing loudly when a fox is around, but all the other creatures ignore them.
The pigeons and squirrels amuse me as it's usually a race to get to the peanuts that I throw out. Sometimes they both go for the same nut then both back off. Once they collided and the squirrel knocked a few feathers out of the pigeon!
However the pigeons aren't always safe from the foxes. Last year I posted about a pigeon that was attacked, probably by a fox cub - see "Fox cub and pigeon".
Every year I eagerly look out for the new fox cubs. I usually see them in mid May. This year, 2020, I knew they were around as 2 mothers were taking food back to them and I could occasionally hear some squeaks. And prior to that one of the mothers who I see frequently every day disappeared for a few days, presumably when she was giving birth. I've named her Manky Tail.
I was really happy on the evening of 12th May to see the first 3 cubs. This was the earliest I have seen them, as in 2019 it was 17 May, in 2018 on 17th, and 2017 on 15th May. So the dates have been consistent over 4 years.
Manky Tail has 2 cubs. She is not at all worried about bringing the cubs for food. Whereas the other mother, White Tip, is much more timid. I'm not sure if she has 2 or 3 cubs as I only ever see her with 2, but there are 3 in the 3rd photo below.
I live on the first floor so it's not easy to take good photos and with the cubs running around it is even more difficult.
The first cubs I saw on the 12th were White Tip's. There were 3 of them.
Next day I saw this one,
I didn't see White Tip with her cubs again for a few days. It wasn't till the 15th that Manky Tail brought her cubs for food. It was a sunny morning and the light was bad for photos. Kissing mum then sniffing her bum! -
Mum went off to bed leaving the youngsters exploring their new world. They were still checking things out at 1.30 pm. Sniffing some bread then lazily eating it -
The sibling also eating lying down -
Both exploring -
Manky Tail again
UPDATE
Having said that Manky Tail and White Tip are the mums, I don't actually know what sex they are! It is very difficult to tell the sex of a fox. And it's harder for me as I am looking down on the foxes from the first floor, so can't see them from 'underneath' to see their genitals. If these 2 foxes are the mums I would expect to see teats from nursing.
And the fact that these 2 adults were taking food back to the den could mean they are the males, helping the mother who is staying in the den with the cubs. From newforestexplorersguide :
"Fox gestation period is around 52 days, births are usually in March or April, and the typical litter size is 4 or 5 cubs, although in the New Forest, litters of 6, or sometimes more, are not uncommon. Fox cubs at birth are blind and deaf, their nose is relatively short, their ears are small and floppy, and their fur is short and very dark. The vixen’s body heat is needed by the cubs for the first 2 to 3 weeks of life - during at least the early part of this period, she is provisioned by the male: he leaves food by the den entrance for her. After around 4 weeks, the cubs first venture above ground, hesitantly initially. By this time, their coat is darkish brown with a reddy tinge to the face, their ears are more like those of adults: longer and erect; and their muzzle has lengthened and will continue to do so as adult facial features are progressively developed over the next 4 - 6 weeks. Adult coat colour is also fully assumed over this period, starting, at least in some animals, at the front and working backwards. Following first emergence, hunting and foraging instincts quickly kick in as the cubs seek out earthworms and insects to supplement a mixture of 'mother's milk' and solid food brought back for them by both the dog fox and vixen. Relatively large mammals, such as rabbits, and birds are often provided for the cubs, whilst for themselves, the adults apparently favour smaller prey items, such as mice and voles."
Over the past few years that I've been following the foxes, I've never seen both mum and dad with the cubs.
---
UPDATE 1 JUNE
Concerned as I haven't seen Manky Tail with any cubs for about 2 weeks. I've only seen 2 cubs with White Tip. And whereas those two adults used to get along peacefully, last evening WT went for MT who was eating, forcing MT to drop the food and run, then lie submissively, whining. It's frustrating not knowing the sex of those adults.
Typically after I wrote the update on 1st, I then saw the 2 adults and 3 cubs.
There are many foxes in my area. They are obviously well fed and ignore the pigeons that are frequently on the ground close to the foxes. The pigeons obviously feel safe. Normally birds would be prey for foxes. The Woodland Trust says that "Urban foxes will also scavenge for food in dustbins, and often catch pigeons and rats."
This May I've been watching 5 fox cubs, belonging to 2 mothers. They first make an appearance in mid May, when the mothers bring them out from the den, to teach them about life. They are particularly playful as well as noisy when squabbling over food.
I was interested to see one cub stalking a pigeon and then chasing it. I've never seen an adult fox do this, so the behaviour must be natural in the cubs, they haven't seen their parents do it. Normally the pigeons are content to look for food very close to the adult foxes, as the latter don't bat an eyelid.
So I was horrified one morning to see a large cluster of pigeon feathers on the ground. It was quite far away and I couldn't see a body, or any blood. So I don't know if the pigeon escaped, or if the carcass was taken away and eaten. There were so many feathers that I imagine the pigeon didn't survive. I would guess it was one of the fox cubs who did this, as I've never seen an adult bother about the birds.
Spring is the time when many animals are born. The first babies I saw were lambs, in North Wales on 12th April.
Early May I saw this coot with young, at Millers Pond near Shirley, Croydon -
Next were the fox cubs. I don't know when they are born, but I first saw them on 17 May. Prior to that mum probably keeps them safely in the den, until they are old enough to be presented to the world. In 2017 I first saw them on 15th May, in 2018 on 17th, so the dates have been consistent over 3 years.
In 2019 there were 2 mothers, one with 3 cubs, the other with 2.
One of the mothers -
The other mother, who I think is younger
It was impossible to get a photo of the cubs together as they don't stay still long enough!
At the end of May I went to Waddon Ponds, near Croydon, and saw this swan with cygnets. It was hard to count them, there are at least 8
Also at Waddon was this Mallard family, there seem to be 8 youngsters. It's good to see that dad is helping out
Meteorological spring ends on 31 May 2019, the day after I went to Waddon Ponds.
