Den of Reds
- This topic has 8 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated Jul 19, 2013 at 5:25 pm by
.
-
Posts
-
Morrison and I were out scouting a waterfowl location this weekend when we happened upon a red fox den containing 3 kits. It was a lot of fun to watch them at play and I thought I would share a couple shots of the critters.
Cute – pity they’re such a pest here.
What’s your lens set-up for them ?
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
<cite>@david anderson said:</cite>
Cute – pity they’re such a pest here.What’s your lens set-up for them ?
Yes foxes hammer the waterfowl and upland birds up this way…
In this case the den is adjacent to some cover, and we are able to approach to within 10-15 yards depending on which entrance the kits are using. I’m shooting a 400/2.8 and Jay is on the 300/2.8. Due to the proximity, the 70/200 with the 1.7x TC would work nicely, as would a 300/4 or 80-400.
The challenge has not been reach due to the covered approach, but the kits do spend a lot of time in the den so mainly it has been waiting and hoping for activity during the right light. Here is a shot from last night at sunset, with the distance from lens to subject at 10 yards:
This guy is laying very near ground level, and the approach is 4″ deep in swamp water. I wanted an eye-level perspective and had to “assume the position” by kneeling down and soaking my jeans and elbows in some very nice, sulphurous rot to get this angle. Jay can speak to the mosquitoes that bombed the scene as well.
<cite> @brett colvin said:</cite>
This guy is laying very near ground level, and the approach is 4″ deep in swamp water. I wanted an eye-level perspective and had to “assume the position” by kneeling down and soaking my jeans and elbows in some very nice, sulphurous rot to get this angle. Jay can speak to the mosquitoes that bombed the scene as well.
Hmmm, swamp water & Mozzies.
Just remembered why I’m not a wildlife photographer..lolLooks to be worth the pain though – great shots..
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
I’m reading a book called “Twilight of the Mammoths,” on the decline of the Pleistocene megafauna, written by the guy who came up with the overkill hypothesis. It reminded me of this post, because he discusses how foxes are actually evolutionary prototypes of the larger canids like wolves and dogs. Basically wolves and dogs’ great-great-ancestors started out looking about like a fox. Ditto coyotes, which split from the wolf/dog line a few million years back (but they are still closely related enough to interbreed if forced to it).
Zach
May have to check that out Zach. There was a fascinating article not long ago in National Geographic about a researcher in Siberia who successfully domesticated silver foxes. At one time the prevailing wisdom was that domestication of wild canids took place over expansive time periods – but in these real-world experiments foxes began to show not only behavioral (tail wagging, etc.) but physical traits of domestication (like piebald coats) by the 4th generation.
Incredible stuff.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.