On Monday I was lucky enough to spot 2 fox cubs as they ran back into their earth (the name for a fox den in case anyone was wondering). So I went back on Tuesday morning and found a good spot close to the earth and downwind, where I could set up a makeshift hide with some camo netting, ready for me to go later that afternoon.
Thankfully I didn't have to wait long for the first cubs to appear, just 20 minutes or so as they ventured out of their holes just after 17:00, about the same time I'd seen them the day before. Despite being less than 20 yards away and occasionally less than 10 they were largely unaware of my presence, occasionally looking up in my direction when they heard my camera shutter but they quickly went back to play fighting with various parts of previous meals. I think there were 5 cubs in total but they were rarely all in sight at once.
Unfortunately the light was low and at iso 1600, the max I like to shoot with using my D7100, the shutter speed was too slow to capture any action shots but I did get some nice stills. The pictures though are just a bonus as the experience alone was well worth it. I will go back again, hopefully in better light and I will also take my wife as sharing this experience will make it all the better. If I'm very lucky the vixen might show up too but I think it will be much more of a challenge to get her on camera.
Here are a few of my shots.
Thankfully I didn't have to wait long for the first cubs to appear, just 20 minutes or so as they ventured out of their holes just after 17:00, about the same time I'd seen them the day before. Despite being less than 20 yards away and occasionally less than 10 they were largely unaware of my presence, occasionally looking up in my direction when they heard my camera shutter but they quickly went back to play fighting with various parts of previous meals. I think there were 5 cubs in total but they were rarely all in sight at once.
Unfortunately the light was low and at iso 1600, the max I like to shoot with using my D7100, the shutter speed was too slow to capture any action shots but I did get some nice stills. The pictures though are just a bonus as the experience alone was well worth it. I will go back again, hopefully in better light and I will also take my wife as sharing this experience will make it all the better. If I'm very lucky the vixen might show up too but I think it will be much more of a challenge to get her on camera.
Here are a few of my shots.
