skip to main content

The Kitchen Table

Saw a fox during the night

11 years ago

I was up to get a drink in the wee hours, and saw something under the bird feeder. I just watched it for a good while, then finally got the flashlight to shine on it. It was a small grey, and in 43 years, we've never seen a fox around here!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (15)

susanjf_gw
11 years ago
thought we had a fox, but the closer i got realized it was a coyote! better still are the deer that have passed thru our yard (and we're city-bound) saw the other day on one of the busy streets, a deer caution sign!

we had 2 buzzards last year fly thru (one landed on our shed..they're huge)

now a small bunny and chimpmunk have started visiting under the bird feeders...
wanda_va
11 years ago
We have a fox that has babies under our shed every year, so we get to see them frequently. Here's a picture from two years ago of two of the little foxes (there were three).
Related Discussions
D*****d FOXES!!!
Q
Comments (39)
I'm sympathetic to just about all the views that have been expressed on this thread. I'm vegetarian and dislike killing animals, and yet realize that something has to kill wild animals to keep their populations in check. I'm less consistent than some of you, as I eat dairy products and eggs and wear leather shoes. In my part of Italy we're seeing the mountains and the hills, once heavily populated, slowing emptying of human presence. This has been going on since WWII and the process shows no sign of slowing or reversing. It looks as though vast tracts of Italy could end up as essentially a wildlife preserve, with the human population stuffed in the plains, along the coast, and in low-lying valleys. We live at 1500 feet above sea level, five miles from a good-sized town, an hour from a medium-sized city, and from our house I can be in downtown Milan in two and a half hours. And yet living here is a practical struggle. Public transportation is scarce and getting scarcer, and gasoline costs about $8-$9 a gallon. Roads are narrow, steep, winding, and in increasingly poor repair; every winter we struggle with snow and ice. A daily commute is a heroic contest, as is getting children to school, since many children aren't served by school buses, and all the high schools are down in the cities. The jobs are mostly in the flatlands. The fewer people live in the hills and mountains, the more expensive services for them become. When we moved here boars were already a problem, in part because they weren't the native Italian breed, but a larger, rooting kind that was introduced by hunters. As others here have noted, they're prolific, destructive, and dangerous. A few years ago we began to see roe deer locally; now they're well established and devastating to our garden, as well as to agriculture. It's with a sigh of relief that I've been hearing in the last year that we now have wolves. These moved first into the high mountains, and, with rapidly expanding populations, have come down into the hills, and I've even heard that they've gone as far as the plain. People who keep livestock aren't happy about them, but they apparently are doing great work keeping the wild boars in check, and should also help with the deer. I wonder when bears will show up? Italy will need a change in priorities and a lot of innovative thinking before the current trend changes--money wouldn't hurt either--and change, innovation, and money are all in very short supply here. So I expect we'll continue on in the current fashion, and half of Italy will fill with ghost towns. I just hope we can continue getting our daughter to school. A whole world of traditonal knowledge, experience, and culture is being lost, but on the other hand the seeds of a new primeval forest have been sown: who knows what ecosystems will arise? It's all quite interesting. Melissa
...See More
You won't believe what I just saw
Q
Comments (34)
LOL!!! yeah, parrots are a wee bit noisier than 'keets. and mine are small parrots- not the ones who can REALLY make noise. they give so much back, though- they are like extra kids. funny, smart & silly, they keep life interesting (and aggravating sometimes). not to mention makng my ears ring. :) i'm 36, so i have seen some d.v.d. shows, but it was when i was small. never saw that episode. i'm thankful my jays mostly stay up in the pines and leave me and my songbirds be. they & the crows have scream fights up there sometimes. i've had corpulant cats before, and know how hard it is to get them to slim down. they simply aren't interested. the only way i ever found was to limit what they could eat- fed them once a day, as much as they were supposed to eat for the day, rather than a bowlful they could eat at will. when we moved here and they were allowed outside during the day, they slimmed down a lot just from the extra excercise. they've been gone a while now, and i miss them, but with allergies & asthsma, and now birds, we won't be getting more. tam
...See More
Red fox, cats, birds
Q
Comments (8)
Jessaka, I am glad the birds alerted you and you were able to chase the feral away from the birds. Feral cats can, do and will chase off wild animals they feel are encroaching on their territory. It is all about survival. They don't want some other animal like a fox getting food they want for themselves. One of the hardest things about taming a feral cat is breaking them of hunting birds, rodents and even squirrels and rabbits. Usually, our once-feral-and-now-tamed cats give up hunting birds, squirrels and rabbits after they get used to eating cat food from a dish, but they tend to keep hunting rodents although they rarely eat them after they kill them. They basically are playing with them and toying with the rodents and when they get tired of the 'play', they kill the rodent and walk away. Foxes and other nocturnal animals will become more visible in periods of drought when food is scarce. There again, it gets back to survival. If they are not successfully finding enough to eat during the nighttime hours, they will come out more and more in the daylight hours. At our house, we are seeing deer at all hours of the day. Maybe at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. or noon, or even 2 or 3 p.m. The rabbits are coming out a tiny bit earlier in the evening and staying out a tiny bit later in the mornings, but so far it is not a big shift in their timing yet. Last year, it got to where the rabbits were out during the day just like the deer are this year, but we're greener this year than last, and the rabbits aren't having to search as hard for food as the deer are. Rabbits graze on grasses and such, but deer browse on woodland understory trees and such. Apparently the understory trees took a big hit last year in the drought because the deer seem really hungry even though at our house we are just about at average rainfall for the year-to-date. In the year when I had my cougar encounters in the yard, we were in a drought here in our area that had been dragging on for about a year, and even the cougars were out, each time, in daylight hours when you normally would not expect to see them hunting. I suspect they, too, were desperately hungry. That year the bobcats and coyotes also were out at all hours of the day. Usually, the longer the drought continues and the hungrier the wildlife are, the more you'll see the normally nocturnal animals out in the daylight hours. The hungrier they are, the bolder they'll get. We've had wild raccoons sit on porch furniture and knock at our windows begging for food. We do not feed them, but that's a clear indication that they know we have food, and they want it, isn't it? Dawn
...See More
December: Reading During Short Days and Dark Nights
Q
Comments (93)
Last night I finally finished Paul Murray Kendall's famous biography Richard the Third. It was a fascinating, sympathetic biography of a controversial figure. I found myself agreeing with Kendall's hypothesis that Richard was defeated at Bosworth, not as the result of some sort of poetic justice, but rather due to the betrayal of self-serving nobles, who in turn found just as much to grumble about during the reign of Henry VII. I found it poignant how hard Richard III worked to cultivate and favor the very people who meant him the most harm. Fundamentally, Richard seemed to have an inability to maneuver and pirouette through the politics of court life. Kendall finds countless examples of traitors whose were left off easy by Richard, only to redouble their efforts to conspire against the King. Kendall raises many interesting points, but often lacks the objectivity needed in the biography of such a complex subject. In an afterword regarding whether Richard was responsible for the murder of the "Princes in the Tower", Kendall argues that the boys may have met death at the behest of other figures at court, most likely the Duke of Buckingham. Though ultimately unsolvable (mostly due to the Tudor historians who apparently destroyed countless records portraying Richard in a positive light), I still feel that he had the most to gain from the murder of his nephews.
...See More
glenda_al
11 years ago
We have coyote warnings in neighboring areas, and people are advised to watch their small dog and cats.

I have deer, raccoons, possums, and armadillo that roam thru the woods in back of my condo.
iowagirl2006
11 years ago
I love Fox's - so pretty! We have red fox here.
emma
11 years ago
We have a family of 5 red tail foxes in an old hedgerow behind out houses. The same day we saw them playing in the open we had 2 white tail does walk through. The Does were a very rare sighting. I live in a residential area of this city of 360,000 people. The foxes are very shy and disappear as soon as they see us moving. And we have Canadian Geese who like to nest in our flower beds. This gander would not allow us out of door near their nest. He would seriously attack anyone who came near. He got blood from me, but I was not going to be a prisoner in my own home. I warned the mowers to watch out for him and the mower said there won't be a problem riding on these noisy machines. I didn't see it but the neighbors told me, the gander chased the mower and attacked both guys riding mowers until they finished.
pudgeder
11 years ago
They're so fun to watch when they're playing!
And great for keeping the rodents in check.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
11 years ago
When I was young my father found a nest of babies and the mother was dead, he brought all the babies home for us to raise. They all flourished. We returned them to the woods where he found them, I kept one that was super tame, I would walk it on a leash. The others would come to the yard and visit us and the one I kept. When it was fully mature I left it free to choose if it wanted to go with the others, it finally left but would come back to see me often. Even when they had their own babies they would come by. They were so beautiful.

When we lived in Denver we had the most beautiful silver foxes that would wander through the property.
lydia1959
11 years ago
I haven't seen a fox in our neighborhood for several years now.

Nice picture Wanda!

What a neat story Raven!
bengardening
11 years ago
I remember when I was still at home on the farm and my brothers found a den of foxes. They tried to smoke them out. I dont know how, but it involved a vacumn cleaner hose. I remember one of my brothers got burned pretty badly and they had to take him to the hospital. It was the same brother that I spilled how milk on when he was laying on the floor in front of the cupboard. He still has a scar on his arm from that. This had to be about 48 years ago.
dedtired
11 years ago
We have red foxes (which are so pretty if, sadly, they don't have mange), raccoons, skunks, possum, groundhogs, rabbit and deer. We are right on the edge of a large metropolitan city! Chipmunks and squirrels, or course.
jemdandy
11 years ago
If there are coyotes in the area, do not leave very small children unattended in your yard.
jel48
11 years ago
I've always thought it odd that foxes are seen so seldom! I've always lived in areas where there are foxes around but have only actually seen one (crossing the road or whatever) a handful of times. I'd love to be able to see and photograph fox kits! Or adults too, for that matter :-)
dedtired
11 years ago
I often see foxes, usually at dusk. Maybe there are fewer places to hide because I live in the suburbs, not the country.

When I was young I used to see and hear pheasant very often. Now there are none around here.
eccentric
11 years ago
We live in Central Toronto and have been warned by Animal Control to watch out for coyotes in the area. We have a dog - 22 lbs., but people with large dogs, being walked on leash, have had their dogs attacked by coyotes. Raccoons and skunks are a nuisance, coyotes are a whole different ball game. Of course I understand that we are taking over their natural habitat, but that would be small comfort if I had to do battle for my dog's life - which I would do - the coyotes would have to take out both of us. Animal Control has suggested that people take down their bird feeders - I feel sorry for the birds, but ... A friend of mine has a red fox living in her back yard. Her husband thought she was making it up until they came face to face. He tried to scare the fox off - not happening. I have bought a small air horn just in case we encounter the coyotes.
User
11 years ago
awww...they are so cute. That's a great picture!! We had a fox here in the yard for a couple of weeks. I haven't seen it for a few days now. Also saw a coyote near our house. Some of the other critters we have here are racoons, deer, possums,squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits, wild turkeys, ducks and geese. It's kind of tricky feeding the birds here. LOL

Related Stories

HEALTHY HOME What to Know About Controlling Dust During Remodeling

By Mitchell Parker

You can't eliminate dust during construction, but there are ways to contain and remove as much of it as possible

HOUSEKEEPING 10 Chores You Can Whip Through During Commercials

By Becky Harris

Use ad time for getting tasks done, and it’s like fast-forwarding your house into cleanliness

LIFE 10 Ways to Cope With Grief During the Holidays

By Shelly Miller Leer

If you are experiencing loss, take it from an experienced griever — life has changed forever, but it does get better

LIFE 10 Ways to Work Through Grief Triggers During the Holidays

By Shelly Miller Leer

A year after losing her sister, she was facing another holiday. Here’s how one woman learned to find joy again

LIFE How to Keep Your Pets Safe During the Holidays

By Marianne Lipanovich

To avoid an unwanted trip to the vet, be aware of these holiday-related hazards for dogs and cats

BEDROOMS The Right Mattress: The Secret to a Great Night’s Sleep

By Sophie Baylis

We spend a third of our lives asleep, so investing in a quality mattress is essential. Check out this expert advice to help you choose yours

ARCHITECTURE Lantern-Like Architecture Lights Up Night and Day

Aglow in the landscape from inside and out, these modern homes convey unspoken gestures of welcome

DIY PROJECTS Light Up Your Night With an Easy Outdoor Table Lamp

By Shelly Miller Leer

Hit up Goodwill and the hardware store to make this lamp for a deck or poolside patio in minutes

PRODUCT PICKS Guest Picks: The Night Sky

20 ways to stargaze without setting foot outside the house

COLOR 12 Top Colors for Night Owls

By Lisa Frederick

These home colors reach their peak at the end of the day. Which is your favorite evening backdrop?

Sponsored

Mary Shipley Interiors

32 Reviews

Columbus OH Premier Interior Designer 10x Best of Houzz

More Discussions

Oh no! Another one!

731

Let's start a chain reaction game -- Part 4

205

Can we start a Chain Reaction Game - Part 4

248

Nespresso machine?

11

Update on the cat distribution thread of April 23.

11