Babies!
We have babies! Baby Foxes! These are pictures taken of only one of the Kit’s, my guess, a female, but not sure. I used a 70-200 lens and flash. This first picture is her peeking out of the fox hole curious about the camera click. I didn’t even know if they were in the den but found a good spot and waited. I took a few shots to check my settings and the camera click, more then being quiet seemed to draw her out.
According to Mos we have had too much frost to have mosquitoes. Well, he is wrong, lying on the wet ground waiting for the Fox kits to allow their curiosity to overcome their fear, I was eaten alive. Only one kit was brave enough to show herself on this night.
Oh my goodness, how cute!!!! How many kits total do you think there are?
Adorable, Julie you are more patient than I would have been. What time did the kit come out?
Ahhhhh so cute!!! I read this feed through an RSS feed reader and at first I thought you had early puppies! I am impressed you were able to get such great pictures – I hardly ever see foxes around here and when I do, it’s only a short glimpse.
Too sweet!! Nice stack pose in the one shot 🙂
We rarely see the adult Foxes. I find all sorts of evidence of them, their dens, footprints, left over body parts from wings to snake skins. The kits go through a period of roughly a week where they are more curious then fearful. It is a fun time for me as they are so much fun to watch. When the foxes were breeding we were doing club training on Friday nights and everyone was wondering what kind of wild animals we had because they were making the craziest noises! This years batch of kits were also born about 3 weeks later then normal, which I find interesting because my dogs also were late coming into estrus this year.
I can not figure out how many Kits there are, at least 4. Either there are a couple of litters or they are the same litter traveling back and forth between the two most easily seen dens. There is another huge den that you can not see without walking into the woods.
The kits come out to play in the evening. The foxes are most active at night. After a fresh snow one of favorite things is to go out before letting any of the dogs out and track the Fox footprints. They go right up next to the house and buildings, the dog kennels. They are the night-time crew. 🙂
Been enjoying your web site and blog for a while now, first post.
Great shots of the kit! As a fellow Nikon shooter and 70-200mm owner, the quality shines through in these images. Your patience paid off!
Julie,
What fabulous photos. I love watching wildlife. Sorry you got eaten alive to share these pictures with us.
You can tell she is an “Alta-Tollhaus” fox as she is already playing with sticks!
@BillW
Welcome to the blog Bill! You are in good company here with the rest of us Nikon users! We do have our token Cannon users—Andrea, Nick, Cynthia; but we love them all the same. 🙂
Those are awesome, Julie. Was wondering what flash you were using and how you positioned it and pointed it? Did you use a diffuser? Looks like you had it positioned up and left in some. Can’t imagine how you could get those without a shadow using the built-in flash and such a mamoth lens. How far away were you? I suck at flash and wanna learn.
I had it pointed straight on because there was no where to bounce it. I thought about using my hand to bounce it but wanted to keep a low profile. I used the TTL setting, had some green eye in some of the photos.
Great pictures! Thanks for the Canon user shout-out! I am sure that was painful for you! :~)
Am I the Cynthia you referred to or is there another super smart Canon using woman named Cynthia?
@Chris
Chris, I used a Nikon SB600. Use flash/lighting is like learning how to shoot all over again. But knowing you if you decide to do it you will be nothing short of expert at it.
@NeifertFamily
Yes I was talking about, I know you are super intelligent, so I am perplexed by your choice of camera. 🙂
My initial reaction was to say “that’s funny I was just thinking the same thing about you”! But I am smart enough to know I am out numbered on this blog! I am also at your and your Nikon’s mercy for more pictures of the new puppies. So I will just say ” good one”!
Not only are these adorable shots Julie, they are also crystal clear. I have to say that after seeing so many excellent “Nikon” shots on this blog, I would definitely be tempted to defect to “the other side” had I not spent a boat load on various Canon lenses over the years. Actually my uncle in England decided to replace his 2 year old Canon with a Nikon DSLR only six months ago and is extremely impressed with the results.
I will have to hunt out some old photographs my Father took and developed in the 1960s of a tiny kit they rescued from the side of a road in Yorkshire, England. Its mother had been hit by a car and the little guy was the only kit they found. If I remember correctly, they reared him for about 6 months and then took him to a privately run animal sanctuary in Scotland, where he remained with a “girlfriend” for the rest of his life.
The stories Mum would tell me of how “Foxy” and Rex (their GSD) would play together; Foxy somehow ending up on a coffee table eating birthday cake and licking at a champagne glass, while Rex looked on drooling (Rex was not allowed near any people food regardless of whether it had been left unattended) could melt anyone’s heart!
@Andrea
Andrea I think you had storybook childhood growing up in England. Your parents certainly were the best.
ohh my gosh 🙂 two weeks ago, leaving class, i seen 3 kits. How cute!