Like this:

It’s always a happy occasion for us when we get some indication that the foxes have started showing some interest in the den site across the creek from the house.   We get so wrapped up in the thrill of seeing new spring litters and then we adjust back to their absence through the summer.  At some point in the late fall we start to see that they’re back in the area. 

It’s very typical that early in the fall that the local skunks start coming by the den area, lining the den with old pine needles and scratching around the base of the trees near the den.  However, at some point the character of the den itself changes.  The actual den holes – filled with pine needles and having a very small opening for the skunks – suddenly widens out, the needles are pulled away and fresh dirt from the inside is mounded up in a big heap just outside the holes.

That’s what we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks.  The dirt mound is getting new dirt added to it every few days – over the past several years of use the mound has piled up least two feet tall.

So we replaced the batteries, put the camera out and were happy to see that, yes, the foxes are back. 

And, because it’s a good reminder that Spring will inevitably follow the darkness of Winter (today!), here’s last Spring’s litter:

 

Spring 2011

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