Finding a Fox

Several people have asked me how I decide what nature subject to write about. It’s easy! I write an article about whatever I have a good picture of. Sometimes getting a picture is difficult, especially if the animal is mainly nocturnal, or very wary.

Foxes have been on my short list for a while now. But they have always been too far away or moving too fast, or seen after dark.

But a couple of weeks ago I received an email from Sue L. who said that her neighbor had a den of red fox pups in their backyard that were well within camera range. Carolyn and Gunny (the neighbors with the foxes) agreed to let me try to get a picture for a future article. Even better, their friend, Don Hepburn, with a better camera than mine, already had some great shots of the pups. So that is how I finally was able to get a picture and write an article about foxes in Fairfield Glade. Thanks to everyone involved.

There are actually 2 types of foxes in this area…red fox and gray fox. I have seen both kinds frequently so I think both are pretty common in this area. Both are similar in size and eating habits. Both types of foxes are around 7-14 pounds and both eat rabbits, other rodents, birds, eggs, insects, berries and fruit. The major difference is that gray foxes can climb trees. They have strong curved claws that allow them to easily climb trees to escape predators and catch prey. Coyotes are probably most fox’s main natural predator.

Red foxes, (in the picture above) like the ones in Carolyn and Gunny’s backyard, can be identified by their orange-red coats, black feet, and white tipped tails. There is a gray phase of the red fox called a Silver fox, but it still has a white tipped tail and black feet.

Grey foxes (like the one at left), on the other hand, are grizzled grey above with a white throat and rusty red sides. Gray foxes have a black tip to the tail. The reddish color on the sides of the gray fox causes them to sometimes be misidentified as a red fox, but the color on the tip of the tail is usually the way to tell a red fox from a gray fox. The grey fox in the picture crossed the road in front of me a few days ago with three pups behind her. One of the pups climbed 10 feet up a tree and then back down while I watched.

Since most of us don’t raise chickens in Fairfield Glade red foxes don’t usually get into trouble around here. As you may know, red foxes have a reputation for liking chickens. They also like Insects so they should be loving the cicada boom this spring. Both types of foxes eat fruit. Near where I used to live in Texas there was an old abandoned peach orchard. In the fall I would find fox scat full of peach seeds. I guess they just ate them whole. Thankfully, (from the fox’s viewpoint) they were small peaches with small seeds.

A gray fox comes around my house once in a while and digs up grubs in the mulch. But I don’t mind. In fact, I always kind of like environmentally friendly insect control over the chemical kind. I did get up at 2am one night and sit by an open window to try to get Mr. Fox’s picture, but his night vision was better than mine and when I raised the camera he disappeared into the night.

As you drive around here at night keep you eyes open for a fox crossing a road in front of you; I have seen several this way. Sometimes you might even see one at dusk or dawn. If you see a fox try to determine if it is a red fox or a gray fox since you now know how to tell the difference.