Vicki Fox > Guests > PEI Foxes > 2000 Journal 2Q

PEI Foxes - 2000 Journal : April to June

2 May

Email from Tom

I drove back and parked the car half way between the top of the hill and the hutka. Then I worked back gathering and piling stones from the ploughed LDC field to the bottom of the trees (top of the area that was tiled. That crest is a real nest of stones. He should not have ploughed it because there was some runoff there, but that is after the fact.. I walked back to the car and was resting on it to catch my breath when I saw what I took to be a coyote. Totally black and sitting in the field where the right angle corner oo a triangle would with the sitting rock being the other corner. He was about 60 yards away and watching me, I don't know how long. All he could see of me was my head over the car and we stared at each other for well over a minute while I wished I had him in the sights of a rifle. Then he dropped his head and trotted arrogantly towards the stoney outcrop, looking for mice as he went. S, I had a terrific view and was thriled to see a beautifut white tip on his tail. I have never seen a native fox with so much black but as he moved along in front of me I could see his body outer coat had a lot of silver and there was dulling in the body behind the shoulders. Dulling is not the word because the body coat had a shine to it, but the tail, except for the tip, was totally black. Definately not a coyote. He hunted around the stone outchop for a minute and then meandered to the back of the field. I didn't want to start the car and scare him so followed on foot. he stopped in the area where that pond used to be and hunted around there two or three minutes, then trotted away towards the back of the Bud's place. I am saying HE because of the way he stared at me and his arrogant movements seemed male. Didn't seem to have any maternal obligations, the way he took his time about everything and seemed to forget me once he had had a good look. He nnever turned to look my way once while I was watching him.

10 May

Email from Tom

Edith callled a few minutes ago. She and Jack were watching a pair of foxes down by the cottage. She said they were hanging around there quite a while. It looks like that big silver one with a red one that could be female. There are no signs of pups however but it is still early.

12 May

Email from Ruth

Fox babies at 12:00 o'clock!

Spotted 3 today, just east of Arnold's old shed (the one he put the rocks under in an attempt to out-fox our vulpine friends) and 1 scooted under the old cottage over by the lane. Altogether we've seen six: 1 huge black/silver adult with a white spot at his tail-tip the size of a cereal bowl; 1 sandy coloured adult and, as of today, 4 babies.

13 May

Email from Ruth

Today's report is even more fantastic. Late this afternoon we counted SIX - babies only - playing in the area to the left of the old shed... three pairs of the little b------, tumbling all over each other in puppy-type play. They all look sleek and healthy. Edith reports having seen a couple of adults, one black male "looks just like a big dog when he sits there" and a tan coloured female. It is WONDERFUL!

14 May

Email from Ruth

I finished at the computer about 5:00PM and checked our 'fox nursery'. It's been a sunless day, but warmer, and very little wind. Perfect visibility... And, since Arnold mowed the grass around his buildings before leaving last fall, our little vulpine family has an almost perfect set-up. One family, I think, has a den under the east end of the old shed, the other under the west end of the old cottage by the lane. The 'kids', however, congregate over between the new and the old shed to play. There's a big old tree stump to climb in and pounce on the other guy from, and a good yard, with several places to scoot under if threatened. Plus which, they're only 100 feet or so from the swampy spot on our property where I suspect there May be a springtime freshwater source. I peered through the 'scope and there they were... 8 - yes, EIGHT - baby foxes within a few feet of each other. Four, 1 very black one, 1 dark grey and a couple of tan coloured ones appear to be slightly younger (by this I mean they are just a little less sure-footed) than what I suspect are the older litter, which is comprised of the 1 jet black one, 1 dark grey and another two tan-coloured. It was an incredible sight, 8 little pairs of fox ears and 8 little snouts, all pointing east...

I swung the glass to scan our field down by the shore and there was the big adult tan one (Mom, Dad, or Auntie) trotting homeward through our little stand of evergreens (about 6 feet tall now, and great shelter for any wildlife) with a mouthful of grass and fur. Not far behind was the big black with the white tail-tip the size of a cereal bowl (the one Edith says "looks just like a big dog, sittin' there"). The adults dumped 'supper' on the grass and suddenly there was this great heap of little bodies wrestling each other for dinner, the white tips of their little tails threshing in the air. Ten minutes later I looked again and the spot was empty of fox kits and food. I'll keep checking and let you know.

20 May

Email from Ruth

Not much that's new to report. The kits are so active these days that I can seldom get them all within the 'scope at one time, but I did manage to observe all 8 at least once yesterday. And all appear robust and healthy. They're spending a lot more time scampering around in Visser's field to the west of us, much to Jack and Edith's delight "...you should just SEE them running and playing, just like a bunch of puppies!" And since grain is planted in that field this year, our babies won't be frightened by the big machinery the way they sometimes are during a potato year. And yesterday I also saw a pair of them nursing - you know how it goes, Janet - Mamma sits there, looking bored as all get out, while they nudge away at her. (Mamma was a tan-coloured adult, and both kits were fairly light in colour.)

Trouble is, the grass that Arnold cut so nicely last autumn is growing, which makes it more difficult to spy on them from this distance (app 1000 ft).

Just took another look (it's now 10:30am Saturday) and there are at least a half dozen furry lumps sunning themselves in the grass between the old and new sheds. Every so often a little head topped by tiny ears raises up to look about. They're really content. S'wonderful!

25 May

Email from Ruth

I haven't been reporting on the fox babies because I was extremely concerned about them.

Since last Saturday I had not been able to see all eight through the 'scope at the same time, we had not observed the adults bringing food as often as usual... and the six I WAS able to see seemed listless, somehow, not quite as playful, curled up in little balls on the grass and sleeping through a large part of the day. I even saw one little guy digging (for earthworms, I thought) in Visser's newly ploughed and seeded field to the west of us. To top all that off, late Sunday afternoon we saw a tan-coloured adult heading diagonally across Wright's (also newly worked) field to the east of us... our dogs barked, the fox became spooked (why, I don't know, our dogs were at least 500 feet away and safely behind a page wire fence) and last I saw of it he/she was heading - hell bent for election - back in the direction it had come from, with two crows mercilessly dive bombing it for the mouthful of rodents it was carrying. I nearly cried! I kept a steady lookout until Sunday dusk when I saw a couple of adult foxes, one that looked like the earlier one, approach from the WEST, the five babies I could make out in the dimming light alert and rushing to be fed.

Well, I was at a dinner on Tuesday, and relating my fox story, how I was worried that the little guys might be lacking adequate nourishment. The woman on my left (almost in tears), said "oh, those poor little things, that field's been ploughed, the mice are gone and they 're so desperately hungry they were probably digging for grubs" offered to send her husband to the shore - daily, yet! - with dog food and fresh water. The man across from me (who is considered something of a local naturalist) advised "worst thing you could do... interference could spook the adults even more, to the point where they might abandon the babies!"

So yesterday I called Tommy Duffy, an old friend at PEI Fish and Wildlife. He assures me that all is probably well at our shoreside nursery.

1. As young foxes spend more nocturnal hours being taught how to hunt, they make up for it by sleeping through the day.

2. Amazingly resourceful creatures, even at a very young age, foxes will dig in a newly worked field for worms, for grubs, and for the odd mouse nest that got trapped when the soil was turned.

So... I'm not so worried any more. Will try to keep you posted!

Luv, Ruth

PS We've been closing the gate to our larger yard each dusk and not opening it until morning and keeping Buffy's wading pool topped off with fresh water. This gives them another acre or so of dog-free 'hunting grounds', just in case...

12 Jun

Took the golf cart up the hill behind the house this afternoon. At the bottom of the spruce trees found fresh fox scat that was not there yesterday. Turned right and drove along the edge of our property and when I pulled approximately opposite the hutka (on the other side of the field) I could see a head and ears looking at me from the grass. I couldn't tell if it was coyote or fox. Suddenly, the critter jumped up and ran along the mowed strip and then into the hedgerow. It was a gorgeous taupe colored adult fox with the biggest, bushiest tail I have seen. I haven't been to the shed by the shore to see signs of pups yet. Too much to do - but will in the next few days.

14 Jun

Such excitement. Made the rounds tonight leaving a Milk Bone at the bottom of the spruce trees and at the head of the reopened lane (just down from the hutka). Using new feeding areas this year to fool the crows . . . but not very far from the old areas. Went into the woods to leave some cereal for the Partridge family. Left the treat at the bottom of the spruce trees on the way in and at the reopened lane on my way out. When I got to the fork where the lane between the spruce trees cuts off, there was a gorgeous strawberry blond fox eating the 3 little pieces of Milk Bone I had left on the way in. She has a grey tail, but the rest is blond with red highlights. This is NOT the taupe colored one I was the other day. She perked her head up when I saw her; probably the noise of the golf cart. I stopped and called "kit kit" and she moved to the ditch, but still visible. After all, how long does it take to eat a small Milk Bone broken in 3 pieces? I kept calling "kit kit" and she stayed and watched me. Evidently she either recognized the sound of my voice (unlikely but ego wishes it were true) or was not threatened. I threw more pieces of Milk Bone and they all landed in the ditch instead of the lane. However, she was watching carefully. I left rather than push my luck. So! We have the place and the time established. It's the same old time I've fed them other years; anytime between 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

18 Jun

Have been leaving cereal back in the woods for the Hungarian Partridges. I usually go back in the late morning. Today I left Honey Nut Cheerios for the birds and decided to go all the way back and check on the rare Lady Slipper. Coming out I noticed all the cereal was gone. Usually the mother partridge hangs around and lets her chicks scrabble and play a bit, but no one was in sight. Since they were that hungry to eat it right away, I left some more. As I turned the corner onto the Loop Road I surprised a grey fox who immediately whirled in the air and disappeared into the brush. It had the coloring of George(ette) and Pepper from the one-second glimpse I had. And a big white puff at the end of the tail. I called "kit kit" and left some milk bone and drove on. Waited for a few minutes to see if s/he would come out but when no one did, left the scene. Those of you who have been in the newsgroup for awhile will remember Pepper's old trick of following me thru the woods and eating everything I left for the birds. This really brought back memories. At the feeding site where I saw the "strawberry blond" coyote scat had been left next to the fox scat. I quickly scooped the coyote scat away, leaving that of the fox. Left food tonight, waited, no fox.

19 Jun

Fresh scat in the woods, and Milk Bone gone. Saw the strawberry blond duck into the hedgerow by the hutka as I was "fox hunting" tonight. No relationship yet, doggone it.

20 Jun

Did the tour of the woods this morning. All the Cheerios and Milk Bone I had left yesterday were gone. Left more and then drove all the way to the back of the woods. I've been using the old green Toyota the past two days "for luck". As I was coming out of the woods, just past the 2nd turnaround, I could see a fox in the road. I was about 60 feet away and s/he slipped into the brush. The Cheerios left at the first turnaround were gone, so I left a few more. Got to the bottom of the next hill and I could see a fox trotting down the road behind me. The sun was such that through the rear view mirror I couldn't tell much about coloring. I stopped and as the fox stepped into the brush, I could see the big white tip at the end of the tail. This was enough to confirm it wasn't a coyote. I waited and nothing happened, so I drove on. The fox followed, keeping about 80 feet between us. I left about 6 Cheerios at the other spots and waited, but no luck. I leave for Chicago tomorrow and won't be back for a couple of weeks. Tom will be here next week - we'll see what kind of luck he has.

21 Jun

Went back into the woods this morning at the regular time. As soon as the fox heard the car she came trotting out. (See? It *is* the old green Toyota that draws them.) A beautiful white bib, strawberry blond, grey hips and grey tail and huge white tip at the end of the tail. I stopped and she stopped. She kept about 60 feet between us, which is closer than previously. I went on to the next feeding area and she trotted right along behind. I got out of the car and called "kit kit" and tossed bits of ham to her. I couldn't toss as far as she was sitting, but me moving outside the car and the motion of my arm throwing didn't disturb her. Couldn't spend long as I had to leave for the airport to return to Chicago. Tom goes back on Saturday so promises to take over the "social hour".