Red Fox: Dalliance in the Daylight

Bovingdon Brickworks (BMT): I must have walked past this field hundreds of times in the last 18 months, taking the footpath into the Brickworks. Redwing, Fieldfare, Green Woodpeckers, Magpies, Crows and Woodpigeons have all appeared here at one time or another. This was the first time a beautiful Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) had sauntered through the long grasses. I couldn’t see if it was male or female but it was as cool as a cucumber, lazily meandering through the meadow. It looked over at me a couple of times but I was well hidden behind a hedge. It eventually decided to stop, sit and just take in the morning, content out in the open. Every other Fox sighting on Trust land has been one of mutual surprise: both me and the Fox have been startled, locked eye contact and then the Fox has scampered away into the undergrowth. It was beautiful to watch such a relaxed and blatant foray from an otherwise careful creature.

Photos taken on Monday morning, 11/05/2015