Farnboro John
Well-known member
Only white (apparently wild) rabbit I've ever seen was along the South edge of Beckley Woods years ago. I don't think they are unknown, just attract too much predator attention! :t:
John
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John's Mammals 2020 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Farnboro John
- Start date
Only white (apparently wild) rabbit I've ever seen was along the South edge of Beckley Woods years ago. I don't think they are unknown, just attract too much predator attention! :t:
John
Farnboro John
Well-known member
That goldie is a cracker!
John
John
Initially thought I had a Roe Deer a quarter of a mile up the lane from the house. Not a good enough view though and on Twitter a couple of people have seen the odd wandering Fallow Deer from Margam Park. This is c14 miles away and makes more sense. My first one I’ve seen outside the park in 48 years!!!
Rich
Rich
MarkHows
Mostly Mammals
Had a few things over the last week or so picked up this soprano pipistrelle in my garden, now with a bat carer. Got the polecat on the trail camera again and the usual sightings of muntjac, rabbit, grey squirrel, brown hare and fallow deer.
Mark
Mark
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JWN Andrewes
Poor Judge of Pasta.
Fantastic! Well done Max!
Farnboro John
Well-known member
It's a long time since I provided photos of the foxes or reported on their fortunes.
We rarely know the fate of our foxes. They just stop coming and after a few weeks you realise they aren't coming back... Psycho stopped coming late winter. We think he may have become an RTA,as one of our neighbours reported a dead fox in one of the parking bays along the street that had been progressively ground into the tarmac too long ago for me to go and check if it was him. That split lower canine that (we think) gave him his godawful temper should have provided a good identification feature. It's always sad when they go.
However, Big Whitey, who is now four years old and demonstrating all the resilience and native toughness that you would hope to see from a fox - he's been carrying a permanent disability in his left rear leg since adolescence and a hole in his right ear courtesy of Psycho, notwithstanding which he remains a dominant territorial dog fox who we believe has bred with both Double Top and the current vixen, Rip - is still with us. Large, slightly paler than the norm and with a relentlessly jaunty upcurve to his fine white-tipped brush, I would have to concede his intelligence is not quite as high as that of either of his successive vixens: but his character can't be denied and I was exceptionally glad he made it though another winter to still be with us now.
The photos of Whitey that I'm going to post show how ragged and seemingly unwell a perfectly healthy moulting fox can look.
Rip, our tiny current vixen, has cubs somewhere: she is obviously lactating and takes all the food we can give her, caching some, wolfing (foxing?) some and carrying some away presumably to the earth. Like Double Top she has developed a message for me: thrown a piece of chicken she will pick it up, pause, drop it and look me right in the eye until I throw a second piece, at which point she picks up both and trots off with them.
There is very little fractiousness between the pair as they are fed (one reason I believe they are a pair) with both occasionally letting the other take a morsel that was clearly directed at them, without demur. (Psycho, by contrast, never let anyone else be fed while he was present.)
Anyway, here are some spring fox pix.
John
Big Whitey in full winter coat, January
Big Whitey towards the end of March
Rip confirms she has cubs, towards the end of March
Rip feeding - a careful sniff at the food first
Big Whitey with a blackish shoulder. After much study it seems this is his undercoat moulting slower than long white guard hairs of his winter "dress shirt"
We rarely know the fate of our foxes. They just stop coming and after a few weeks you realise they aren't coming back... Psycho stopped coming late winter. We think he may have become an RTA,as one of our neighbours reported a dead fox in one of the parking bays along the street that had been progressively ground into the tarmac too long ago for me to go and check if it was him. That split lower canine that (we think) gave him his godawful temper should have provided a good identification feature. It's always sad when they go.
However, Big Whitey, who is now four years old and demonstrating all the resilience and native toughness that you would hope to see from a fox - he's been carrying a permanent disability in his left rear leg since adolescence and a hole in his right ear courtesy of Psycho, notwithstanding which he remains a dominant territorial dog fox who we believe has bred with both Double Top and the current vixen, Rip - is still with us. Large, slightly paler than the norm and with a relentlessly jaunty upcurve to his fine white-tipped brush, I would have to concede his intelligence is not quite as high as that of either of his successive vixens: but his character can't be denied and I was exceptionally glad he made it though another winter to still be with us now.
The photos of Whitey that I'm going to post show how ragged and seemingly unwell a perfectly healthy moulting fox can look.
Rip, our tiny current vixen, has cubs somewhere: she is obviously lactating and takes all the food we can give her, caching some, wolfing (foxing?) some and carrying some away presumably to the earth. Like Double Top she has developed a message for me: thrown a piece of chicken she will pick it up, pause, drop it and look me right in the eye until I throw a second piece, at which point she picks up both and trots off with them.
There is very little fractiousness between the pair as they are fed (one reason I believe they are a pair) with both occasionally letting the other take a morsel that was clearly directed at them, without demur. (Psycho, by contrast, never let anyone else be fed while he was present.)
Anyway, here are some spring fox pix.
John
Big Whitey in full winter coat, January
Big Whitey towards the end of March
Rip confirms she has cubs, towards the end of March
Rip feeding - a careful sniff at the food first
Big Whitey with a blackish shoulder. After much study it seems this is his undercoat moulting slower than long white guard hairs of his winter "dress shirt"
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Farnboro John
Well-known member
And some more:
Rip still showing her gigantic winter brush, almost the same size as the rest of her, more than halfway through April. With her belly naked for suckling, she probably needs the brush for warmth when curled up.
Rip with brush starting to reduce as spring moult proceeds
Big Whitey with his coat slowly evening out and bright new fur showing, but still winter undercoat grey giving him a certain scragginess
Both of them waiting to be fed. Rip is absolutely focused on the task while Whitey enjoys a good scratch in the background.
Rip still showing her gigantic winter brush, almost the same size as the rest of her, more than halfway through April. With her belly naked for suckling, she probably needs the brush for warmth when curled up.
Rip with brush starting to reduce as spring moult proceeds
Big Whitey with his coat slowly evening out and bright new fur showing, but still winter undercoat grey giving him a certain scragginess
Both of them waiting to be fed. Rip is absolutely focused on the task while Whitey enjoys a good scratch in the background.
Attachments
JWN Andrewes
Poor Judge of Pasta.
A good five hour trek this morning, bird highlights were year tick Hobby, several each of singing Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat, a dry earth field in which it looks like at least three pairs of lapwing are getting ready to nest, a couple of Lesser Redpoll and a singing Redstart. The no-contest highlight, however, was quietly encountering half a dozen fox cubs playing in a clearing in some gorse. A joy to watch, and when I was done and had moved on I bumped into mum enjoying some quiet time the other side of a hedge from her litter. Also another black bunny, about three miles from the one I saw a couple of weeks back (and which I have seen several times since).
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Farnboro John
Well-known member
Tremendous! Lovely pictures as well. Bravo!
John
John
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Class! Thanks for posting.
I was going to make an effort with Water Shrews this year but I've decided next year will do - Norwich is a bit far at the moment.
John
jurek
Well-known member
Just to hijack the thread. I had possibly the best mammal observation in my life. 
https://vimeo.com/420457219
https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=390073
https://vimeo.com/420457219
https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=390073
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Just to hijack the thread. I had possibly the best mammal observation in my life.
https://vimeo.com/420457219
https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=390073
I'd possibly agree... and it's not a hijack, that's what this thread is for! Congratulations :t:
John
dantheman
Bah humbug
This doesn't compare with a big cat of course, but had a fox cub experience earlier on today which was pretty cool - no camera or even phone though.
So I was stood in a trackway when I spotted a young fox cub bimbling along further down and coming towards me, exploring the ground and smelling everything. Not sure how old it would have been but it was maybe a touch larger than the largest domestic cat you normally see out. Anyway it seemed quite young and spent a few moments worrying about a hogweed leaf blowing about in the middle of the way. I was in the middle of eating a banana at the time so I broke a few chunks off and threw them down the track about 30 feet away. It hadn't noticed me, but ate the banana when it came to it! It was only when it kept coming toward me and about 10 feet away that it saw me and legged it back without a backward glance. Saw an adult too in the vicinity wandering about a couple of times that afternoon too.
So I was stood in a trackway when I spotted a young fox cub bimbling along further down and coming towards me, exploring the ground and smelling everything. Not sure how old it would have been but it was maybe a touch larger than the largest domestic cat you normally see out. Anyway it seemed quite young and spent a few moments worrying about a hogweed leaf blowing about in the middle of the way. I was in the middle of eating a banana at the time so I broke a few chunks off and threw them down the track about 30 feet away. It hadn't noticed me, but ate the banana when it came to it! It was only when it kept coming toward me and about 10 feet away that it saw me and legged it back without a backward glance. Saw an adult too in the vicinity wandering about a couple of times that afternoon too.
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