Ill or Injured Red-Tailed Fox

I am adding this note on January 31, 2008. I now know that the fox discussed and pictured below has mange. A complete write up addressing a fox with mange is posted at January 20, 2008.

I wish I could report that all is well in the Colvin Run Habitat, but that is not the case. Our red-tailed fox is quite ill or injured. One day last week at 10:30 in the morning, the fox was observed under the bird feeder eating sunflower seeds by the mouth full. This is not unusual behavior as the fox was seen eating sunflower seeds a year ago. As you look at these photos, do not be disturbed by his mouth as what you are seeing is the fox chewing on the seeds and spitting out the shells – much like baseball players do.

Clearly, this fox is not in good health. His eyes show a lot of stress and appear to be discolored; the area around his right eye is pull and extended – perhaps even swollen or ulcerated. He appears sunken at the hip and gut; his coat lacks luster and appears to have thinned. The black spot on his forehead is new and may be an area lacking coat. The fox was noticeably limping and favoring the back right paw (you might notice in the third photo that he is not putting weight on that right back paw). This limping (back, right paw) was observed previously in January. The fox allowed me to take photos for a full two minutes and approach him as close as 35 feet. He looked up and directly at me on two occasions; finally, he trotted off through his normal place in the brush.
I suspect that you might have three questions. First, what is causing this condition? My thoughts and those of a colleague at the office are: an injury, an infection, or age. An injury could have been caused by a fight with another animal – another fox or a coyote (coyotes have not been observed in the Habitat, but I have observed one at the Meadowlark Garden Park about 2 miles away) – or by being hit by a car. The eyes could have been injured in an animal fight. The back right paw could be the result of an animal fight or a car hitting. Of course, the injured paw (as observed with the limping) means a lost step and the inability to successfully hunt food.
Second, could this fox have rabies? My colleague suggests most likely not – as he was not staggering, not falling down, not making small circles (like his balance is off), nor acting confused (signature of advanced rabies). Further, he was not at all interested in my presence – previously over the last 12 months he has allowed by to approach him as close as I did this time. Additionally, he would not be eating at all with rabies, but looking for lots of water. He clearly was there to eat the sunflower seeds and water was available (but not approached by him) in the bird baths and the tub used for the birds.
Third, is this the Colvin Run Habitat signature red-tailed fox? I think so. All of the fox photographs taken in the Habitat over the last 12 months included our signature fox. His behavior allowing me to approach, finding him at the base of the bird feeder, and his departure directly through his normal perch in the brush all suggest that this is our fox. However, the black mark on the forehead does not show in the previous photos.

I hope that future news will be about a much improved fox.

New York Road Trip

Yesterday evening, we returned from a short road trip to New York City and Cooperstown (to see the Baseball Hall of Fame) in update New York State.
The best, and really only, bird photos taken were of this red-winged blackbird located at Glimmering Glass State Park.
While there are no photos, we also observed a downy woodpecker among the brownstones of 2nd Street in Brooklyn (Park Slope) and a red shouldered hawk in Prospect Park (Brooklyn's equivalent of Manhattan's Central Park). We also observed a pair of wild turkeys in the fields along US 20 in update state New York.

The Growing Chickadee Chick

Here is the latest Chickadee chick photo. Per the previous post, only one of the four chicks remains. The chick is nearly full size and quite capable of moving around in the bird box – you can clearly see that it has move as far as possible from the open side.
As I took this photo, one of the parents was dive bombing my head.

On the Road: Geese Nesting and Goslings Everywhere

A recent visitor was directed to the Colvin Run Habitat blog by a Google search of “goose nest.” While we have numerous folks of local and migrating geese fly overhead, geese have never been observed on the ground or nesting in the Habitat. However, geese are known to the Northern Virginia area year round. Nesting geese and their young are common. At least once a summer, I come across the parents leading a line of goslings across a road. These photos were taken by my youngest son – now a law student at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Ft. Worth – at the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens about 2 miles from the Colvin Run Habitat as the crow – or in this case the goose – flies.The geese parents created the nest on top of mulch at the base of a tree and at the edge of a large pond. The photos were taken on May 14. The goslings are quiet large and active. While you can see in the last two photos that they were exercising their wings, they clearly lack the feathers required for flight.

Young White-Tailed Deer Traveling Without Mom - Sprouting Antlers

In our last post about the white-tailed deer, the doe (mom) and the two young ones (now a full year old) were still together. This week, the two young deer were observed in the Colvin Run Habitat alone. Now it is always possible that the doe was present but just not seen, as the foliage in the Habitat is full.

These two photos showed the larger of the two young deer. They are so used to me photographing them that they do not even put up their white tails - the normal alarm sign. The last post showed that they had survived the winter well - displaying good coats and full bodies. The first photo shows a clearly thinner deer.

The second photos shows the black velvet nubs that will by fall be a rack of antlers.

Chickadees Chicks Hatched

Three days ago, I finally found the Carolina Chickadee parents off of the nest inside the bird box. Expecting to find the eggs in the nest, I was surprised to find that the chicks had already hatched. They were laying limp in the bottom of the deep nest; their bodies dramatically moving with each beat of their hearts. (Click on the photos to get an enlarged view.)
Forty-eight hours later when I opened the side panel of the bird box, I was greeted with four small heads pointing straight up, mouths open, eyes closed, but clearly expecting mom or dad to provide a meal. Today, I finally managed to get some photos. The chicks are clearly larger than just 24 hours later. Today, only one chick greeted me with a headed pointed upward and waiting for a meal.
Each time I approach and open the box, one of the Chickadee parents perches about 5 feet away in the oak tree. They squawk a lot to make sure that I know that they are there.

Red-Tailed Fox Returns Again This Morning

For the second day in a row, the red-tailed fox returned this morning. He was first observed in his normal relaxation perch in the brush, then made a run at the squirrels. The fox chased one of the squirrels past, around, and through the Hellera Holly bush. The squirrel being chased lost the fox when he came out of the bush and immediately went back in. The fox either lost interest, energy, or perhaps the fox did not see the squirrel turn and re-enter the bush.
It had rained overnight so the fox's coat was wet from laying in the brush and running through the wet holly bush. Assuming this is the same fox (which I think is very reasonable given his behavior of the last two days), then he appears only a bit thinner than when we saw him last on March 25 (55 days ago). The first two photos are from this morning; the third photo was taken March 24.