Foxcam’s last couple of outings have resulted in very murky, unclear images. I really didn’t think we’d had fog so I’ve been a little concerned. Last night, I had kept foxcam cool in the house and put it out early to acclimatize, then wiped the [so-called] lens down to remove any condensation that might have accumulated.

Having researched mange when Ratty appeared, we discovered from the National Fox Welfare Society that one way to administer their homeopathic medicine is via a jam sandwich. So, not having any meat scraps left over, we went with a jam sarnie made up of specially purchased, crappy Warburton’s bread slathered with left over cranberry jelly. I also threw out a pile of peanuts hoping Broc might be appreciaitive.

This morning I was at first gutted to see further murky clips begin to load. “Bother”, said Pooh, crossly. What on earth [whose earth, I don’t know] is causing this? I sat waiting for the long-winded loading to finish and saw that the last three clips were actually clear. So, it doesn’t seem to be a camera problem; it does look like atmospherics. The temperature had dropped to –7°C at one point.

Our first visitor, a fox, was not until 02:45. It was limping but wasn’t Limpy; this one was favouring its right rear leg very noticeably. What am I going to call this one, Cassidy? [Hands up if you remember Hopalong Cassidy.] Here’s a shot to show the lack of any clarity – and I’ve cleaned this up a bit. At first Cassidy seemed to ignore the jam sarnies and went for the peanuts. “Oi, those were for Broc”. 🙂

There was another visit by a very agile, wary-looking fox at 03:30. Without detail, matching to any previous visitors really isn’t practical. It was in good nick, though, but didn’t seem interested in the jam sarnies, two of which remained.

So to the clear clips, recorded as late as 05:55. This was another fit fox and a very handsome specimen. My suspicion is that it’s a younger one. Other than the fact that I was back to recording clear video clips, which was something of a relief, the biggest puzzle here was that there were now no jam sarnies visible. What on earth had happened to them? There were some left at the end of my final murky clip and now there were none. Curious.

After a few nights of lashing rain, we decided to put our chicken remnants back out again to see if the wandering waste disposers still loved us. The bait went out at 23:15.

I’m sure we had no fog or mist last night but the video clips that were recorded were decidedly murky – but at least there were some. I’m a little concerned but I’m hoping that it may be a general fogging of the lens caused by condensation having gone out from a warm(ish) house to slightly sub-zero outside. I did put the camera out early to acclimatize but I will try to remember to wipe the lens next time. Anyway …

Image quality aside, I was delighted to see the return of Broc at 23:41. Broc sniffed at the chicken remnants but left them alone, wandering off towards the camera. Then I noticed something – only one of Broc’s eyes was shining back at me. One headlight bulb had blown. I revisited my record of Broc’s first appearance and, sure enough, the left eye didn’t reflect the (infrared) light. I hadn’t noticed in my excitement at that visit. This was certainly the same badger and it seems to be blind in one eye.

At 00:45 a fox was discernible through the murk. As unclear as the image is, I’ve compared this to earlier clearer images and the black markings are enough to tell me that this was Limpy back again. Happily, his limp is now very slight, hardly noticeable.

Limpy seemed to polish off most of the chicken but apparently not quite. At 02:17 another fox turned up and grabbed a morsel. I don’t think there’s enough detail to compare well to other records but this was a very agile, perhaps smaller individual that crouched low as it ate. I don’t recall seeing that posture before. I must look harder at my earlier shots.

We weren’t done yet. At 04:11 the temperature had dropped to –6°C when the camera triggered again and just about recorded another fox visit. This time there was no sign of any eating having taken place so I imagine the chicken really was now all gone. Perhaps the scent lingered on the grass and attracted this last visitor. As you can see, there’s absolutely no point in my trying to identify this one. 🙁

We had a left over chicken carcass last night, which I put out in the rain at 23:30.

I think it rained most of the night. This morning the chicken, most of it anyway, was still lying on the grass, which is always a disappointment.

I retrieved the dripping-wet trailcam and towelled it off, expecting to find nothing. What I did find was that I’d switch it to still photo and 24hr mode to test it after the fog episode and forgotten to change it back again.

Nothing had triggered the trailcam until 08:10 this morning and that suspect was a Crow. At least it wasn’t a (bloody) cat. Maybe the weather was too unpleasant for the foxes, or maybe the scent of food was masked by the conditions?

The crow made off with a beak full but Francine retrieved the other remnants so we can try again. 🙂

On Saturday we had used our lockdown exercise walk to wander into town for a raid on our monthly farmers market. It’s about a 4½-mile round trip, so a decent stretch.

I’ve become addicted to real ducks, ducks from the Franklins of Thorncote stall – aged ducks with flavour and …

<grump>
… not those Gressingham apologies for ducks that are so young they have breast cartilages rather than breast bones (which distort when cooked) … and which have less meat possessing noticeably less in the way of duck flavour.
</grump> [Apologies, technical XML joke.]

Anyway, I was sad to learn that said ducks seem to be a Christmas thing and that none remained. As an enjoyable alternative I snagged a pheasant instead; we haven’t had pheasant for ages and it would make a refreshing change. I was hoping that a pheasant carcass might also make a refreshing change for our wandering waste disposal operatives, the foxes. I put the carcass out in two halves just before midnight.

In the morning the first order of business, after tea of course, is to peer out of the window to see if the bait has gone. It had. Then, while the coffee is brewing it’s time to retrieve foxcam and hook it up.

Last night makes me think foxcam should be renamed fogcam. It had recorded six clips of murky grey. I didn’t recall it being foggy but (un)clearly some had arisen.

In four clips eyes could be seen shining through the gloom. Three of the clips, recorded soon after 01:00, showed what was just identifiable as a fox. Furthermore, we could see that the fox had been limping badly, showing more of a limp than we’d seen hitherto. It was favouring the same leg as Limpy who has either suffered a relapse or someone else is suffering similarly. The grey out is such that we’ll never know.

The final clip of glowing eyes, at 05:00, was that (bloody) cat Tampon, again. I do wish people would keep their cats, particularly overly decorative lumps, in overnight. 😀

I put out three more of Aldi’s pork slurry sausages. I’ve taken to halving them crosswise in the hope that the pieces would be too thick for the pesky cats mouths.

When I retrieved foxcam I did have quite a few recordings, all but one of which frustratingly showed (bloody) cats;. We had two of the blasted things this time; Tampon had been joined by a local black and white pest. I don’t know if my ploy of leaving the sausage pieces thick helped but in any event the cats left them alone. I was suddenly reminded of an old sickly sweet Disney film with Hayley Mills called That Darn Cat. Maybe I should invest in night vision goggles and an airsoft gun.

The one recording of any interest was at 02:20 when a fox entered from stage left and cautiously grabbed a chunk of sausage. This fox looked unfamiliar, the black marking on the muzzle was quite extensive with a point reaching almost to the nose. When comparing to my earlier gallery of rogues the most distinctive feature, however, was the  extent of the black on its legs – it’s forelegs were dark all the way up to the elbow equivalent and the hindlegs up to the knee equivalent. Following the Dances with Wolves lead, this has to Blacksocks, our fifth fox.

Blacksocks was very nimble and, I thought, perhaps a little smaller than others so I’m wondering if it might be quite young. Oddly, it didn’t return for any more sausage. It’s not, perhaps, keen on Aldi pork slurry and who could blame it?

I chucked a few sausages and chicken leg bones out last night for our wandering waste disposal operatives. My heart sank a little when, having retrieved foxcam, I connected it and saw that I had nearly 30 video clips. My immediate thought was, “oh no, Tampon the (bloody) cat again”. I set Lightroom winding through its import and went away while it built the thumbnail preview images.

Disappointment swiftly turned to elation when I saw that our first visitor, at 02:35, had been a Badger. You little beauty! OK, not so little. It entered stage right and wandered on set [get it?] too close to the camera so somewhat out of focus, though with this lens it’s hard to tell out of focus from in focus. For seven 20-second clips, it presented me with little but Badger’s bum, as it snacked. I finally got lucky in the next two clips, though, and managed a profile.

Broc [well, that’ll do unless/until I get more individuals] munched a bit and wandered around the garden, squatted on one occasion and on another appeared to scent-mark one of Francine’s plants, unceremoniously dumping its bum on it. Great stuff, we’ve had Limpy pissing up the hydrangea and Broc sitting on another bit of greenery [don’t ask]. 😀

Nothing more happened until 04:25 when Ratty entered stage right and started munching on the few remaining chicken bones. I really didn’t expect any to be remaining at that hour.

Ratty got surprised, suddenly turning to peer at our garden gate, beneath which a pair of bright eyes could be seen shining in the dark. Something was trying to squeeze through the space under the gate. Once again I suspected Tampon the (bloody) cat and once again I was quite wrong. I lightened and enlarged the image and could just about see that it was actually another fox. It didn’t succeed in getting through the gap so I’ll never know which/who.

Ratty scarpered at about 04:30. We’re not quite done yet, though. Another fox entered stage left just a minute or so later. This chap/chapess looked to be in prime condition, limp-free and with a wonderful bushy brush sporting an obvious white tip. This is our fourth fox which has to be referred to as Sleek.

I don’t mind more nights like that, except I was awake tossing and turning until 3 AM. [Note to self: start drinking again.]

Backing onto a wood, there are a few night time noises that I’m used to hearing. As well as Tawny Owls hooting, we frequently get Muntjac wandering past “barking”; it really sounds more like a cough and is relatively regular, though just occasional, in its delivery.

Last night I cooked our remaining pack of 12 Aldi pork slurry sausages and put four out for our fox visitors. After a couple of easy-peasy grade sudoku puzzles, I actually managed to get to sleep.

My sleep didn’t last long, though; something woke me at about 02:00 and I was conscious of hearing what seemed like a bark or two. They were loud so no wonder I was awoken. Of course, one tends to miss the noise that actually breaks ones sleep. I did eventually drift off again.

I retrieved Foxcam this morning to learn the fate of the so-called sausages.

Happily, at 00:52 Limpy turned up and scoffed a sausage,though he seemed to make hard work of it now they were whole rather than split lengthwise. He seemed to try to swallow too much at once and coughed a bit back up again. Steady on, Limpy.

Less happily, at 01:20 one of our blasted neighbourhood cats turned up and sniffed the pork slurry. This decorative creation is covered in very long, light-coloured fluffy fur and has a contrasting black face, Utterly useless. Well, perhaps not quite; it would be better having its claws and teeth ripped out and being used as a tampon for an elephant. [The ripping out of claws and teeth would, of course, be purely for the enhanced comfort of the elephant.] The damn thing settled down beside the sausages and stayed, licking them every now and then, for 30 minutes. It didn’t seem to be able to deal with them, I’m glad to say. Its delicate little mouth is probably too small – unless someone has already ripped out its teeth. Hmmm. Finally, Tampon managed to gum a small amount of sausage then sauntered off.

Cat gone, Limpy returned at 01:57 and set about scoffing the remaining couple of sausages that the (bloody) cat had licked. At 01:58 he  raised his head and barked three times, waking me up. A volley of three barks is apparently normal for foxes, according to my WildGuides Britain’s Mammals book. Thanks, Limpy. 😀

I had another couple of clips recorded at 02:15; a fox again. I did not have to look twice to know that this was a different fox, neither Limpy nor Fleet. This fox’s brush wasn’t. That is to say, its tail was in a dreadful state of repair and looked nothing like a brush. What this tail looked more like was a rat’s tail. OK, Ratty it is, then. We’re wondering if this might be the early stages of mange.

Ratty sniffed around where the sausages and (bloody) cat had been, strutted around the garden for a moment and exited stage right.

Last night, as is our habit when we have a roast chicken for Sunday dinner, I put out the chicken carcass. This is not just food, this is M&S food. Well, actually it’ was free range Waitrose food. 🙂

Having watched Limpy take his or her time [I’m not good at sexing foxes] over some Aldi pork slurry sausages, we were keen to see how it dealt with a whole chicken carcass. Hoping to avoid blasted local cats, I put it out shortly before 23:00.

I’m having trouble sleeping [Brexit trauma] and, sad git that I am, I lay in bed for some time doing easy-peasy grade sudoku puzzles. A little after midnight, I did peer down from the bedroom window but couldn’t actually see the carcass, though even with a fairly bright moon I couldn’t be sure.

This morning I loaded the five 20-second video clips that Foxcam had recorded.

My first surprise was that I could see no sign of the carcass on the first clip, timed at 23:58, centre screen in the patch of light. On playing it, neither did I spot anything that might’ve triggered it.

I could see that there was a fox in the next two clips recorded 35 minutes later. The final clip showed a fox in the garden at 05:51, a little surprisingly. That was timing we’d not seen before.

Showing Francine the complete absence of chicken carcass, I played clip #1 again. This time I noticed a fox’s brush disappearing at speed behind a Hydrangea at the bottom of the garden. It took 4 or 5 frames [⅓ second] to disappear completely ¿Que? Darwin, it was fast! This had to be our fox making off with the chicken carcass, surely.

Here’s the very first frame from that first video again. I’ve circled the location that the carcass had been in. I’ve also lightened the shadows considerably and circled the now much more visible fox, exiting stage right. Think about this for a while: that fox had to have entered the field of view of the PIR, get to centre frame, pick up the carcass, scoot down the garden and scarper. The Bushnell trail cam didn’t start recording until only the brush remained visible. Slow or what?!

Foxy returned 35 minutes later and sniffed around the garden again. I could detect no limp as it moved. Hmmm? I looked closer. Comparing previous clips, I could see that Limpy has a slight white tip to the brush which this fox appeared not to have. I could also see that the dark markings on the muzzle were clearly different – more extensive on this apparently new Fleet-of-Foot visitor. Here’s a comparison: the brush tips aren’t visible but the dark muzzle markings are.

The early morning visitor at 05:51 did prove to be our original fox, Limpy. He sniffed around where the carcass had been but, alas, went hungry on this occasion.

We needed more fox bait. I certainly didn’t want to keep snagging (bloody) cats. I wondered about a party pack of Richmond Pork Sausages, which I wouldn’t normally countenance but for fox bait, they may be OK.

We walked in to town for some decorating supplies so Francine popped into Aldi on a sausage hunt. Richmond? Pah, for too expensive! She emerged with two packs of Aldi pork sausages priced at a whopping £1.20 for a pack of 12. Strewth! Richmond bangers, themselves poor, are twice that. These are what the late, lamented Keith Floyd, upon whom I model myself [never cook without a glass bottle of wine] would’ve called Unidentified Frying Objects. Let’s try foxy on these.

The Aldi sausages did, of course, look like very pallid mechanically recovered meat slurry squirted into skins. However, I persevered and cooked a dozen in the oven along with our rather more colourful and palatable Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables.

I split my fox bait in half lengthwise and put half a dozen out soon after 22:00.

I hadn’t got the positioning or line-up of the camera quite right but, at about 00:20 our limping fox, naturally now christened Limpy, dutifully appeared and cautiously began tucking in to the sausage halves. It would pick one up and scoot off to cover behind a bush to eat in peace. ‘T was a rotten night; I could just discern rain falling on the recording.

We’d been wondering what sex Limpy might be. I’m rubbish at sexing foxes but in one clip, Limpy gave me a clue. Whilst exiting right and passing Francine’s Hydrangea, Limpy cocked his leg up the plant. Quite right, Limpy, that’s my opinion of Hydrangeas, too. 😀

I’d left the trail cam switched to 24hr mode instead of just night mode. Out of evil curiosity, here’s a daytime colour shot of two Blackbirds foraging in the morning, just to show how awful that lens really is. It should be called a trial cam, not a trail cam, and I’d find it guilty.

[ After an attack of conscience for animal welfare, I won’t be buying ridiculously cheap sausages again since I’m quite sure that the poor beasts from which they are made will have been kept in appalling conditions for the all-too-brief duration of their lives. ]

For many years now we’ve suspected that our back garden is regularly visited by a fox. Actually, given that wild foxes have only a relatively short lifespan [2-5 yrs] we’d be talking about several foxes. We always put out our roast chicken carcasses and lamb shoulder bones both of which usually disappear.

I briefly toyed with the idea of a trail camera to investigate but choosing one, as is often the case, became confusing and got forgotten. This year, although we no longer to Xmas presents  – I’d just as soon not do Xmas at all – Francine decided to get me [us] a trail cam. We plumped for an entry level Bushnell.

It took a while to get used to setting it up. I originally set in on “stills”, as opposed to “video”, ‘cos that’s what I’m used to and set it out over night sans bait. We caught only a neighbourhood (bloody) cat.

[It is estimated that approx. 9 million British domestic cats are responsible for some 275 million wildlife casualties every year, hence my not liking cats and hence the TIC term “bloody”.)

Lesson 1: the stills quality was utter crap. It was probably worse because the infrared flash didn’t fire (though it was set to “auto”) but the camera chose to do 1/20th sec. at F2.8 and use no flash. I’ve since tried it in the daylight and the still quality is still utter crap.

Having learned my lesson and being in possession of some suitable fox bait in the form of barbecued duck leg bones and scraps, I set the trail cam to “video” to try my luck again. I put the food out late in the hope of avoiding the (bloody) cat.

Success! We captured eleven 15s video clips in black and white [night-time is B&W, daytime is colour] of a fox snacking on our pile of duck remnants over approximately a 10-minute period. The action happened at about 00:30. As we watched foxy approaching the food, our visitor seemed to have a slight limp, favouring its left front leg.

Here’s a still clipped from one of the videos. The still quality is still crap. Still, it proves a point. 😀