The Fox Encounter I’ll Never Forget

This week has been absolutely fantastic.

I finally managed to get the photo I’ve dreamt of for so long. Funny how the afternoons you almost don’t go out always seem to turn into the best ones.

I’ve been visiting this specific area for around three weeks now, and one encounter I had absolutely blew me away. I’ve kept that one to myself for now, but I’ll be blogging about it at the end of June.

Back to this fox.

I knew there was a vixen in the area with two kits. Someone I know had seen them while out walking the dog. The area I’d been sitting in had already been great for hares and rabbits, so I thought if a fox turned up, that would just be a massive bonus.

While sitting there, I kept studying the landscape and weighing up why wildlife would choose that particular area. Steep banks, rocks, fallen trees, long grass… plenty of safe hiding places and shelter.

On this occasion, I decided to move a little further into the field, hoping it might be a better spot for the hares more than anything else.

After about half an hour, something caught my eye further down the field.

Binoculars out… omg, it was definitely a fox, but far too distant for a decent shot. I took a photo anyway, thinking this could be my one and only chance to photograph a fox.

Then it disappeared from sight.

I sat there hoping it would make its way towards me.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the top of its back just above the grass to my right.

My heart sank.

No photos today.

I couldn’t believe it had passed me without me even getting a proper chance. Disheartened, I got up and quietly started walking in the direction it was heading, almost on tiptoes.

Then, all of a sudden, the white tip of its tail appeared above the grass.

I quickly dropped down into the buttercups, hidden low to the ground, watching and waiting quietly, my heart racing, thinking please let this be the moment.

Eight years is a long time to track, wait, and search for a subject with no real success.

I could see him moving through the grass and kept thinking to myself, what is he doing?

Then suddenly, he licked his lips and launched into the air in one massive leap before crashing back down into the grass. I heard a squeak.

No photo. Missed the moment.

Then he turned towards me, and I could see he had a hare in his mouth.

It felt like something straight out of a wildlife programme. I genuinely couldn’t believe this was happening right in front of me.

He’d caught his tea and must have been thinking it was time to head home and feed the kits.

Then he started coming straight towards me.

I could actually see the grass flattening as he moved closer. Honestly, it felt like a scene from Jurassic Park.

Then suddenly, he burst out of the grass and almost ran straight into me. He was just as shocked as I was.

His eyes genuinely doubled in size. The expression on his face looked like, “Omg… what are you doing there?”

He turned on a sixpence and sprinted down the field.

I honestly couldn’t believe my luck. Eight years of waiting, searching, and hoping… and then this unbelievable encounter.

My heart was racing beyond belief.

I was frantically taking photos, hoping there would be at least one amazing shot amongst them all.

In those final moments, he was so close that my camera just couldn’t focus anymore… and that was the end of it.

An unbelievably mind-blowing experience that will stay with me forever.

Honestly, I don’t think anything will ever top it.

Unless… yes, you guessed it… I finally manage to get photos of the kits I originally set out to find.

I’ll live in hope.