fox

fox For the third night in a row, I was woken by the dogs going mad outside. A heavy frost had been forecast so I rolled over and went back to sleep rather than venture out. I shouldn't have, earlier I failed to notice that a door was ajar and a sharp-eyed fox had seized a duck. Unfortunately this duck had been sitting on eggs for the past 4 weeks and had just hatched 11 ducklings. They managed to survive the night by keeping each other warm, but were cold and hungry when I found them. A stone hot water bottle covered with straw acted as a substitute mother as they settled down to sleep after their 1st meal of scrambled eggs. A Fox for all its famed wisdom is a creature of habit and would no doubt return the next night for a second helping. This time all doors were secure with the ducklings locked inside, safe from the cold and predators. I still half expected one or two to be dead in the morning. Ducklings are comical creatures, generally stupid, but ingenious when it comes to thinking up ways of killing themselves. Its not unusual to find that one or two having survived the fox go on to drown themselves in the pond or their drinking water. Lambs have a better survival rate and while they are unlikely to drown, many losses are also attributed to the Fox. Friends of the fox argue that many of the lambs taken at this time of year are already dead; close inspection of a mauled carcase can tell if the lamb survived long enough to feed, walk or even draw breath. I remain undecided on the issue, while its villainy may be questionable its beauty is not. Foxes are both striking and fascinating creatures to paint. Keeping ducks is one way to observe foxes, keeping a squeaky plastic duck and a powerful lamp is another. Lamping after dark is an cited as one of the most effective methods of controlling foxes. In addition to a gun and a powerful lamp hunters bring along a squeaky plastic toy. The sound the toy makes is similar to that of an injured rabbit and cuts across the wind drawing inquisitive foxes within range of the cross hairs; whereupon the fox falls foul of the duck.

Fox falls foul of a Duck
For the third night in a row, I was woken by the dogs going mad outside. A heavy frost had been forecast so I rolled over and went back to sleep rather than venture out. I shouldn't have, earlier I failed to notice that a door was ajar and a sharp-eyed fox had seized a duck. Unfortunately this duck had been sitting on eggs for the past 4 weeks and had just hatched 11 ducklings. They managed to survive the night by keeping each other warm, but were cold and hungry when I found them. A stone hot water bottle covered with straw acted as a substitute mother as they settled down to sleep after their 1st meal of scrambled eggs. A Fox for all its famed wisdom is a creature of habit and would no doubt return the next night for a second helping. This time all doors were secure with the ducklings locked inside, safe from the cold and predators. I still half expected one or two to be dead in the morning. Ducklings are comical creatures, generally stupid, but ingenious when it comes to thinking up ways of killing themselves. Its not unusual to find that one or two having survived the fox go on to drown themselves in the pond or their drinking water. Lambs have a better survival rate and while they are unlikely to drown, many losses are also attributed to the Fox. Friends of the fox argue that many of the lambs taken at this time of year are already dead; close inspection of a mauled carcase can tell if the lamb survived long enough to feed, walk or even draw breath. I remain undecided on the issue, while its villainy may be questionable its beauty is not. Foxes are both striking and fascinating creatures to paint. Keeping ducks is one way to observe foxes, keeping a squeaky plastic duck and a powerful lamp is another. Lamping after dark is an cited as one of the most effective methods of controlling foxes. In addition to a gun and a powerful lamp hunters bring along a squeaky plastic toy. The sound the toy makes is similar to that of an injured rabbit and cuts across the wind drawing inquisitive foxes within range of the cross hairs; whereupon the fox falls foul of the duck.

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