January has two meanings for foxes: the breeding season, and voles. Subzero days coax field voles into daylight foraging, and their predators hurriedly follow suit. Happily for the fox-watcher, they are highly visible while questing for lunch.
And when they’re not thinking about food, they’re concentrating on each other!
Foxes have a complicated social life. Groups consist of a breeding pair, their cubs, and sometimes offspring from previous years. They do not hunt together like wolves, but protect a common boundary. But between – and sometimes within – these territorial homelands are a significant number of free-ranging, nomadic foxes, including dispersers searching for a vacant home.
Moreover, many large males trespass freely during the breeding season, sometimes triggering fights. We’ve had an interesting situation here this winter with an exceptionally high number of big roaming males, most of whom I don’t recognise. Doubtless they’ll disappear again before the spring.
Meanwhile, the courting pairs stay close, more or less ignoring their neighbours in the pasture.
The sheep seem to care little about fox territories.
But the grass knows – foxes have scent glands on the edges of their mouths, transmitting information that other vulpines will note.
Hopefully this pair will produces cubs. We’ll find out in the spring.
A Walk with Wildlife 
Interesting post and excellent photos Adele. I’ve only ever seen a fox at a distance so I really enjoyed your shots.
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Thank you Belinda 🙂 Foxes are such curious little creatures. I’ve been observing them for 25 years now and they still manage to surprise me.
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Interesting thing about scent glands in their mouths. Like cats 🙂
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The ‘catlike canine’, indeed 🙂
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Great photos of fox (and sheep!) behaviour. The foxes are very beautiful. Are they one of the Canadian foxes?
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Thank you 🙂 I’m back home in England now. These are red foxes Vulpes vulpes; the same species is also found in North America and Eurasia, although they look a bit different in other climates. They’re fascinating creatures and I never tire of watching them.
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Oh thanks. I was not sure if you were back in UK or staying on in Canada, Interesting that red foxes occur on different continents. I expect they look different in their winter coats than in the warmer months? How lovely to see foxes going about their lives unaware of being watched, or else relaxed enough to be unconcerned despite the dangers that abound.
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Yes, indeed they do look quite different, and the contrast between summer foxes in southern Europe and winter foxes in the UK is especially marked. That is an interesting idea for a post, actually – I will dig up some photos illustrating that. Thanks! 🙂
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I look forward to the post 🙂
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Adele, great post! I always like to see your foxes!
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Thanks Robin! It’s interesting to see how the groups have changed over the years.
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They look wonderfully healthy!
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They’ve all been looking in great shape this year 🙂
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