Fisher and Foxes

The first week of PA deer season has pasted and I haven't had any luck finding a buck but I did shoot some animals with my camera. On the fist day of hunting I caught a glimpse of a fisher (Martes pennanti) run between two brush patches. The fisher is a member of the mustelid family, commonly referred to as the weasel family. For the past several years I've only caught glimpses of this fisher but this time the fisher climbed an Autumn Olive bush and spent the next half hour eating berries as I snapped pictures.





While not as rare as a fisher, I had two red foxes stop by my deer stand to check out the hunting.

Foxes

A couple of foxes have moved into the neighborhood. They blend into the background easily but can be spotted in some of their favorite locations, if you know were to look. This fox has likes the wetlands near our barn.



After viewing the foxes a few times, it's easy to tell them apart (darker hind quarter and tail). This fox was found at the wetlands near our cabin. I didn't notice this fox at first, but a couple of deer point him out as they moved in to investigate the fox.



The fox finally gave up on this area and headed for new hunting grounds.

Red Fox

There hasn't been too much wildlife activity in the neighborhood this winter, but as the daylight gets longer and temperature gets warmer (hopefully soon), I'm starting to see more wildlife. I got some photos of this red fox looking for a meal.

Fall Fox

I went to the cabin property in the evening to watch for deer and spotted some movement in the field behind the pond. As I checked the area with my binoculars I found a fox sneaking through the grass. The fox disappeared into the woods and I continued looking for deer. After 10-15 minutes I detected movement along the edge of the lawn, it was the fox, about 50 feet away.



The fox walked into the high grass and re-appeared in the field behind the pond and hunted in the field for the next 20 minutes.

Hunting for dinner

While checking for spring turkey activity I spotted this fox hunting for its next meal.


Not only was I watching the fox, but a hen turkey (upper right) was also keeping an eye on the fox.


After several minutes the fox successfully caught a mouse.

Foxes on the move

While sitting in our kitchen drinking coffee, our neighbor Harley noticed a young red fox in the field across the road. The fox slowly trotted across the field and into the woods before I could get my camera. Within 20 minutes a second, larger, fox appeared in the same field. It's the mating season for foxes and this fox "zigzagged" across the field allowing me to get some pictures before it disappeared into the woods. A couple of hours later Harley spotted a fox crossing his lawn.