A batty bat, return of the Jackal and an owl swoops ...

Early hours Wednesday Dec 22nd :

A frosty wonderland greeted us as we entered the meadow leading to the cliffs. With no wind - which is the killer at low temperatures - it was surprisingly 'warm' even at minus 4 Celcius and the virtually full moon overhead made spotting easy. Four first season dog foxes closed on us and two of them skirmished aggressively - still competing for top slot in their group. 'Limper' - my crippled dog fox - had to be called and appeared after a few minutes though he was disturbed by two other regulars who had also heard the calls. For three nights both Mr Cruisedog and I have been observed by an unknown fox some quarter of a mile away high up in the woods. Its eyes can be seen reflecting from my LED headlight - and it never changes position - merely holding station and watching as my foxes come and go. It's always fascinating and quite exciting when a newcomer appears and we'll see what happens. Just under 2 hours out on the cliffs and it is startling how the time flits by when we are out each night. Mr Cruisedog never tires of our nightly adventures and waits patiently untethered even if I'm up to 50 yards away ...