Posts in Category: Foxes

Updates on the Loons, Swallows & Foxes

On June 15, 2025 - Foxes, Loons, Tree Swallow Cam, Wildlife Photography

Happy Nature Photography Day! Seems like a good time for an update.

A couple days ago, the tree swallows nesting in the box on the deck declared us persona non grata and have been defending the yard. This morning, they’ve been chattering away more than usual and both parents are popping in and out of the box regularly. Just a few minutes ago, I got the first glimpse of the chicks:

I stopped in to see the Middletons on the fifth. I found only one loon on the pond at daybreak. I went looking to see if the second was sitting on the nest. I looked in in the places they’ve nested before, without finding a nest.

I did find one of the herons foraging in the brush in a cove.

When I came out of the cove, I found two loons wing rowing across the pond. It turned out that Mrs. Middleton was chasing an unbanded loon from the pond. Here’s the intruder departing the pond.

A little more looking and I found Mr. Middleton sitting on a nest in a new spot, well hidden by the reeds. I put the Loon Preservation Committee’s sign out to warn people away from the nest.

Last Sunday, I visited the Westons. The forecast called for a sunny morning. It was clear here on the hill when I woke. The Weston’s pond was socked in with fog. We were at the beginning of the window where the chicks might hatch.

The fog was thick enough to make it hard to tell what was going on around the pond. I headed down to the entrance of the cove where the Weston’s nest.

Both loons were near the nest – I couldn’t see them through the fog, but they were both wailing. Soon, four otters appeared from the direction of the nest. Otters are a real threat to chicks and eggs and I’ve seen a video of one attacking an adult loon on a nesting platform. One of the otters came over to have a look at me.

One of the parents appeared and gave a foggy morning stretch.

The off-duty parent headed out of the cove and some time later reappeared – carrying a fingerling. They must have a chick!

I moved to let me see the nest. There was a chick taking one of its first swims – under close supervision. There was a still a second egg in the nest. Friends told me the second chick hatched later Sunday. I had to head out before the fog lifted.

On Wednesday, I had a chance to visit the fox den again. The last two trips, I’ve seen only one kit at a time, I’m not sure if they’re taking turns out of the den or if we’ve lost the second kit.

The kit that was out and about wasn’t fooled by my being in the blind and spent some time watching me.

And paying attention to anything that made noise in the brush.

Which proved to be a tiring business. Look at that tongue, maybe I should do a Tongue Out Tuesday post.

Friday morning, I headed up to see the Eastons. They’re behind schedule. Their chicks usually hatch the third weekend in June, but they hadn’t laid their eggs by my last visit.

There was a family of geese with six goslings foraging in the shallow water.

I heard a commotion – lots of splashing and then a wail. The Eastons were rousting an intruder. After a little more kerfuffle, the intruder departed.

On my previous visits, I hadn’t been able to see any loon legs, so I wasn’t sure if Mr. Easton had returned. This time, I got a good look at both legs, this is the same male that’s been here for at least five years.

After preening a bit, he gave a good stretch and went to join Mrs. Easton in real estate hunting.

They checked out last year’s nesting site and discussed it at length. Before I left the pond, I caught them mating on the site, looks like they just got a delayed start this year.

Another family of geese stood guard by the boat launch as I headed out.

Looks like more rain the start of this week, I’ll be back out when we get a decent morning.

bird videos, foxes, loons, nest cam, tree swallows

Update on the Loons and Some Cute Fox Kits

On May 31, 2025 - Foxes, Loons, Photography, Wildlife Photography

Memorial Day, May 26, looked promising when I got up to check the weather at 3:30. The dogs weren’t convinced and slept in. Lee & I set out to see if the road to the Easton’s pond was passable. This was my first visit to see them this year.

The road was passable, but the fog had settled over the pond and there was a chilly breeze. There was a pair of loons traveling together on the pond. Mr. Easton is banded, I couldn’t get a good look to see if he’s returned. A quick check of the nest site from the last several years found no sign of activity. Fortunately, it remains well above high water level. We headed out early without any photos.

By this time last few years, the Eastons had been sitting on the nest by now. Assuming they don’t have a nest I didn’t find, they’re at least a week behind the previous years’ schedule.

Tuesday morning I visited the Middletons. The pair of loons on the pond were banded last summer by the Loon Preservation Committee. On my earlier visits this year, Mr. Middleton was traveling with an unbanded loon.

After a quick search, I found the pair of loons just finishing up making little loons, then they headed out to settle in for a long nap.

While I waited for the loons to wake up, I checked around to see who else was about. There was a handful of spotted sandpipers out foraging in the marsh.

Loons usually take fairly brief – 15 or 20 minute naps. This morning they extended that to about 45 minutes, giving me time to get some shots through the fog. One has woken up and is flexing his? neck.

Eventually, they both woke up and one gave a nice wing stretch in the fog.

They set sail to explore the real estate options for their nest.

Mrs. made her case for reusing last year’s nest site again. Mr. tried to explain that it was under a couple inches of water and not really feasible.

She wasn’t buying that for a second. She continued to sit and they discussed it with low hoots.

Mr. Middleton ended the discussion by simply swimming away.

Mrs. abandoned her effort to convince him and swam off the nest site. As she passed my boat, she stretch her leg – giving me a good look at the bands she wears. The rightful Mrs. Middleton is back! This is the female that LPC banded last year. She must have chased the other female from the pond.

The Middletons are also at least a week behind previous years’ schedule for laying their eggs.

She gave a nice wing stretch before heading off.

All was not well, an intruder appeared on the pond. The Middletons went to face off with the intruder. They were still circling and diving aggressively some 45 minutes later.

Wednesday morning found me visiting the Westons. When I arrived, I found one loon sitting on the nest – well above water – and one resting nearby. At first I assumed the loon in the water had shown up to take a turn on the nest.

An immature bald eagle appeared low over the marsh – escorted by a small flock of grackles, kingbirds and red-winged blackbirds. The eagle perched in the tree with the smaller birds taking turns watching him. The grackles and kingbirds were mostly content to sit in the tree and call. The kingbirds favored more direct action, swooping in to try to hit the eagle in the back of the head. There remained a stalemate all morning with the eagle not retreating. The loon in the water may have been standing by to defend the nest.

A representative of the local beaver colony swam by to explain to me I wasn’t welcome.

I’d been waiting for the sun to get high enough to light the nest to get a photo. When it was lit, I got this shot and headed home.

Friends in Newbury called to tell me they have fox kits and were kind enough to let me set up my blind to watch. While setting up the blind, I was watched by two kits sitting near their den.

Monday I was able to sit in the blind for a time. The fox kits not only didn’t seem bothered that I was there – they’d sat and watched me walk in and hide – but seemed almost bored by me.

The den is on the edge of a planted field. Workers made a noise in the field that alerted this kit.

Soon enough, the kit relaxed and went back to practicing to be cute.

Tuesday I returned to watch the kits again.

The were snoozing near the den. Soon that became too strenuous and they retreated back in the den for a longer nap. I gave up before they reappeared. The highlight of my time was what was either a phoebe or a kingbird chased some insect into the blind, nabbed it and quickly departed.

Thursday I tried again with the kits.

This time, both kits were out and wrestling in front of the den.

I’d arrived just in time for the end of wrestling. The kits had a good look around outside the den before disappearing back inside.

Friday morning’s forecast didn’t look promising when I went to bed. When I got up, the forecast had improved to showing a couple hours of ‘mostly cloudy.’ I decided to give the kits another try. Which was the correct choice as the low clouds cleared and it was soon sunny enough to heat the blind enough to slowly roast me. An added benefit was what seemed like the entire population of mosquitoes and ticks had taken shelter in there with me. The phoebe or kingbird made a reappearance, zooming into the blind, around my head and back out in less time than it takes to write about it. No idea if he’d nabbed a meal.

Only one kit was on duty Friday. She came out of the den to nap in the sunshine.

She finished her nap with a stretch and a big yawn.

She dug some improvements on the spot she likes to nap.

Before settling back in to test it out with another nap.

Fox kits are like cats in that you can tell the temperature from the length of a sleeping kit.

After a time, she got curious and explored in the brush near the den.

Then she settled back in before I had to head out.

The cameras in our bluebird boxes are working again, albeit with some kinks. Bluebirds explored the south box for a time and gave up. A few days later I noticed them around the north box and fiddled with the camera to get up and running. They seemed to have claimed the box. There’s third box nearby that has been claimed by wrens. The wrens were successful at driving the bluebirds out. A pair of tree swallows has now claimed the bluebird box and are being very vigilant about the wrens. The wrens seem much less aggressive towards the swallows. Bluebirds would be a direct competitor for food, both bluebirds and wrens foraging along the grass. Swallows hunt in the air. Is that enough of a difference for the wrens to accept swallows as neighbors?

I’ll get around to editing some of the footage of the story so far and start to follow the swallows’ progress with some posts soon.

Want to learn to take your own wildlife photos? I’ll be speaking to the Upper Valley Camera Club at the AVA Gallery, 11 Bank Street, Lebanon, NH next Tuesday, June 10 at 6:30 pm. The talk is aimed at folks with a 35mm camera with interchangeable lenses. Hopefully, I’ll have lots of useful tips. Free and everyone welcome, but they request you register beforehand at
https://avagallery.org/event/june-monthly-meeting/.

birding, birds, new hampshire wildlife, vermont wildlife

Cute Fox Review

On November 18, 2024 - Foxes, Wildlife Photography

I’ve been asked to come up with a red fox exhibit, so I’ve been digging back through the archives to see what I can come up with. Here are a few of my favorites.

This next weekend, November 22-24, I’ll be at the 802 Arts House Celebrate Vermont Art Show at the Doubletree in Burlington, VT. I’ll have lots of prints, note cards and calendars. Stop by and say hello. All the show details here: https://www.starbirdevents.com/celebrate-vermont.

My 2025 New England Wildlife Calendar is still available. You can order them on my site www.IanClark.com.

On to the foxes. I think some of the first professional level wildlife photos I took were of a fox den in Swiftwater, NH, back in 2013. A friend found a den and tipped me off. I was able to set up my blind and watched the family for about 25 hours over several mornings. And I was hooked. Fox kits are just too cute to ignore.

I’d seen the kits out and about before I set up my blind. After getting installed in the blind, I had about 45 minutes of anxious waiting to see if they’re reappear. This guy eventually came out and posed.

Soon three more kits appeared and started interacting.

Interacting the way siblings of all species interact….

Mom appeared to deliver breakfast. Mom could hear my shutter and gave me a hard look before deciding I was not a threat.

A few years later, a friend told me she had kits living under her barn. She’d been watching them for a time, often from a lawn chair not far from the barn. When I showed up to photograph them, they watched me set up my blind before going about their business. I pretended to hide, they pretended not to see me.

My first couple of trips to visit them, they didn’t do much playing. They spent a lot of time sunning near the barn and occasionally chasing small things I couldn’t see.

The next den I found was in a busy park, not far from a well-traveled path. The first couple trips, I took my blind. After watching people walking their dogs between me and the kits – without the kits reacting – I decided I could skip the blind.

This den was hard to photograph. There was a lot of brush around the entrance, and the kits liked to run down the bank on the far side of the hole. I’d been watching the den something like 60 hours before I got them to pose nicely.

The next year, a friend told me the vixen had moved the den. She was being seen regularly, but I needed to search to find the den. After a couple afternoons watching and searching, I found the den. About an hour before sunup the next morning, I set up the blind, cut some brush to further hide me and settled in to wait. About 45 minutes later, Mom returned from her errands, trotted right past the den and came up to inspect me. Good thing I hid. She decided I was uninteresting and went on about her business.

This past spring, a friend found me a den in a cow pasture. There were five kits that were happy to romp in the pasture while I watched.

Watching crows fly past. All very cute, but I was still waiting for the wrestling to break out.

I hear there are several snow owls that have been spotted in New England. I’ll be out looking for them after I get past the show next weekend. Happy Thanksgiving!

fox kits, new hampshire wildlife, red fox, red fox kits, vermont wildlife

Loon Chicks Have Arrived

On June 20, 2024 - Foxes, Loons, Photography, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography

Two of our loon families – the Westons and Middletons have hatched two chicks. I’ve been out to see how they, and their neighbors are doing.

The Tenney Memorial Library will host me this Sunday, June 23, at 2:00 p.m. for my slideshow, An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon. Free and everyone welcome.

I left a game camera looking out my blind by one of the fox dens. Here’s a minute of foxes big and small coming and going.

A neighbor told me he has a whippoorwill stopping by late every evening and early every morning. I sat out by his garden and got a good listen to the whippoorwill. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see him. So far, he’s eluded my game cameras. My consolation prize was a pair of bobolinks:

Mr. bobolink looking dapper as he looks over his territory.

A friend on the Weston’s pond messaged me on the 13th, telling me they’d seen a chick. I headed up to visit that evening.

I quickly found the babysitting loon with a chick riding along.

The chick riding in sight climbed off and was swimming along the far side of the parent when the parent lifted a wing to let me see they had a second chick.

The other parent returned to the cove where the family was waiting, the family headed to greet him(?).

Little loons face big challenges – like powering over those pesky lily pads.

The parents set to feeding the chicks. After several small meals, one of the adults arrived with this crayfish. Both chicks tried to get it down, but couldn’t. It looks to me like our parent is checking the fit. Apparently realizing the crayfish was too big, the adult ate it.

One of the parents gave a nice wing stretch as I was getting ready to head in.

By the 16th, the Middletons were in the window for the chicks to hatch. I headed over early, in heavy fog. It was a fine 36° when I put in. Heavy fog made it hard to find the loons.

After a bit of searching, a parent went by carrying a meal, I knew that at least one chick had hatched. I never saw the nest after they started sitting on the first egg, so I was curious to see if they’d had a second. Soon I found the other parent with a chick onboard. I floated in the fog for about 40 minutes before a second chick popped up from under a wing.

The parents took the chicks into one of the coves to give the chicks second breakfasts. The problem with second breakfasts for little chicks is that it seems to make them hungry for brunch… The sun was coming up and most of the pond was nicely lit with wisps of fog. Our family stayed determinedly stayed about 10′ into the shadows.

Second breakfast came to an end, one parent packed the chicks aboard, the other took a chance to stretch before heading across the pond to serve brunch.

Along the way, the parents traded babysitting duty and the other adult had a chance to stretch.

Now in nice sunlight, the parents got back to work feeding the chicks.

A quick reminder about photographing chicks – give them their space. I’m using a long lens – something like a 20x scope and these images are heavily cropped.

This side of the pond seemed a good place to catch fingerling bass for the chicks.

One of the chicks seems to want to skip the whole chick business and get right on being a big loon. He stretched his wings several times.

And made a couple of impressive dives – this time he stayed under for the better part of three seconds – excellent for a little chick.

Waiting for the parents to retrieve the next course.

A chick’s eye view of a meal being delivered.

Early on the 18th, I headed up to check on the Westons. It was 74° when I put in, almost 40° difference in two days.

There was sad news when I got out on the pond.

I could find only one parent and one chick. After a few minutes, a second adult flew in. The adult on the pond objected and challenged the intruder. Off and on all morning, they chased each other across the pond. Eventually our parent yodeled at the other loon, telling us he’s the male.

Another shot of a loon wing rowing across the pond – a sign of aggression.

One of the adults started hiding close in behind my kayak. The intruder was still on the pond when I left.

There was other activity on the pond. Here a doe stopped by for a drink and a snack of reeds.

A merganser and her duckling paraded by.

There were several beaver pups out on the pond. They’re just a bit bigger than guinea pigs and found the unopened water lily flowers tasty.

I went back up to the pond on the 19th, on a very hot and hazy morning.

Sadly, just dad and the chick were on the pond. Another loon flew over calling, but continued on. It seems unlikely that mom voluntarily left the pond with chicks this young, I fear the worst.

There was an eastern kingbird sitting and watching for some time. I suspected there was a nest nearby.

After a time, a second kingbird appeared with a dragonfly and I was able to spot the nest. I’ve seen several nests in these trees (cedar?) but never noticed how well the chick’s mouth blends in with the pinecones.

And, I’m busy printing new images for the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair. It opens in Sunapee, NH, on August 3rd.

baby loons, birding, birds, loon chicks, loon chicks on back, loons

Red Fox Kits

On May 19, 2024 - Foxes, Wildlife Photography

Friends in West Newbury helped me locate two red fox dens. One has four kits, the other five. All of the foxes look healthy with beautiful coats. And fox kits are just darned cute.

I’ll be giving my slideshow, An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon, twice in the near future. The first will be at the Lyme, NH, School at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 30th. The second presentation will be at the Tenney Memorial Library in Newbury, VT, at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday June 23.

I’ll have another post with updates on the loons and their neighbors shortly. The Westons are sitting on their nest, we know they have at least one egg. The Middletons are building their nest, should lay their eggs any day now. The road to the Eastons has been repaired, I’ll get up to visit them as soon as I can.

Finding a fox den is a treat. But it means long hours in a blind waiting for the action. When I found the first den, I set up a blind and several game cameras to let me know what was up. The first morning it wasn’t raining, I snuck into the blind before dawn. And waited. Eventually, the kits appeared.

This cute little guy came out to enjoy a snooze in the sunshine.

Eventually, the siblings came out and spent time exploring around the den. And biting each other’s tails.

After a time, mom showed up and the kits eagerly nursed. Mom has the patience of a saint, the kits were squirming and kicking, trying to displace the others.

A good look at mom with one of her kits. Pretty sure she’s spotted me.

The second den is in a cow pasture. It looks like mom took over a woodchuck hole and enlarged it. Here two kits sit not far from the entrance to the den.

Kits spend a lot of time playing. The play helps them develop skills they’ll need as adults. They spend time stalking each other and pouncing. They’ll often wrestle. good practice for subduing prey and defending themselves. And it is just fun to watch. With five kits in the tall grass, it was hard to keep up with what was going on. They’d appear from behind the grass at a dead run, then disappear. While they were wrestling, I’d often get a view of just a paw or maybe some ears above the grass before they’d disappear again.

Lots of teeth and play biting, but no one gets hurt.

Looks like we have a winner for this round.

When they’re not sleeping or playing, they spend time watching the world, learning what is a threat and what could be the next meal.

Red fox kit — One of the entrances to the den is near the base of this post.

Check back soon for an update on the loons. Or you can sign up below to get an email when I add a new post. If you know someone who loves wildlife, please share the post with them.

baby foxes, cute foxes, fox, fox kits, red fox