Footage from the MkV Homemade Helmet Cam with built-in flood/spotlight

... early hours Friday July 29th

Fox cub snatches infrared cam vid clip

First part in real time followed by slow mo ...

A TALE OF TWO MICE

For some time I've been trying to film the Wood Mouse who lives in a hole in the hedge which is situated in a fox exit / entry point from a meadow.  Tonight I placed my infrared cam directly in front of the hole and retired a short distance away.  I left a piece of wholemeal biscuit and a few peanuts at the entrance to the hole.  Quite a surprising result - the resident of the hole appears at 50 seconds into the clip - dashing out to secure a single peanut and scuttling back into the hole.  At 1 min 39 secs,  another Wood Mouse enters from the left to seize the biscuit.   They are cute little creatures and have a relatively short lifespan of about 8 - 12 months.

Early hours May 24th

... and a brief excerpt of the action out with Mr Cruisedog's Night Patrol. Featured is one of our newer foxes - a magnificent specimen called 'Croucher' as its trademark feature is a prone position with paws folded underneath - a sign of trust in the animal kingdom.

Back in film mode

It's been some time since I updated with video clips from Mr Cruisedog's Night Patrol. Starting tonight (tomorrow morning actually, as we only commence operations well after midnight) we'll take the cam with us and see if we can get some footage of the new batch of foxes and badgers. Old friends come and go but there's always new faces that appear to take their places here in the combe. You can never 'guarantee' anything out on the cliff paths and meadows, but at least we'll have the cam to hand should anything worthwhile occur ...

Tales of Maidencombe - More Maidencombe Magic

Mr Cruisedog and I have had a quiet time of it on our Night Patrol recently. All vixens are still absent - looking after their cubs who should now be about to leave their earths and watch the adults hunt.
With a full moon and clear skies, we set out on our two mile journey across the cliff paths and meadows. At our first port of call, two heads appeared round a hedge opening - 'Stoker', a slight lesser fox and a young badger sow, side by side. Quite unusual this, as badgers and foxes almost always clash, being competitors for food and territory. The badger sow advanced, her snout held high, sniffing hard and I stepped on Mr Cruisedog's lead as he leaned forward - knowing that he's not keen on badgers. A few slices of dog chub (mainly protein with ash and vitamins) were deposited on the grass and we moved on. Glancing back, I noticed that the dog fox had circled around behind us (a usual trick) and was already at the food.
Entering the meadow, 'Fergus' was waiting and as we advanced, I reached for my bottle of mange treatment and squeezed 5 drops of the tincture onto a chicken thigh. Fergus is undergoing a thirty day treatment period for sarcoptic mange and the spread of the mite has at least been arrested.
Mr Cruisedog turned and stood still, looking back up the hill. A fox was following us about 40 metres away. Not recognising it in the gloom, I threw a piece of chicken towards it. A few seconds later and something came rolling past us. It was a slice of chub and it became clear that it was Stoker who was in the process of carrying the chub (probably back to a vixen in her earth) before dropping it when he saw the chicken.
At our last stop, an old favourite, the one-eyed badger boar advanced fearlessly to claim his nightly banana, taking it quite gently from my hand and retreating backwards into the hedgerow to eat. A large, as yet unnamed dog fox - in splendid condition, with full brush and thick winter coat came in close and lay down with his front paws folded (a sign of trust) and was rewarded with a lamb bone with plenty of meat left on it. Crouched on a wall high above us, a black cat watched proceedings in awe - what it made of the very strange sight of a human feeding foxes and badgers with a large collie cross dog sitting untethered close by is anyone's guess. Night's 'scoreline' ... two foxes treated for mange, 6 foxes and 5 badgers spotted ... a good Night Patrol and more Maidencombe Magic ...

Sunday March 20th:Tales of Maidencombe

The one-eyed badger and the three-legged fox
A fascinating and ultimately rewarding Night Patrol with Mr Cruisedog as we encountered two favourites. Missing for several weeks, the one-eyed badger boar has reappeared. All badger sites and 'experts' state that badgers do not hibernate in the true sense but may stay in their setts for several days if food is scarce. That may well be true, but all of my badgers disappeared virtually on the same date several weeks ago and now have appeared. I wonder how many of these 'experts' go out EVERY night of the year - in all weather conditions - to observe them as I have for over thirty years ... The old boar still recognised my scent - sniffing furiously as he approached - and snatched a banana from my hand before retreating into the bushes.
Limper, my three-legged dog fox was abroad and observed our progress from high up in the woods. Very cautious, he waited from some way off even after I had thrown a lamb shoulder in his direction. Both Mr Cruisedog and I waited, prone on the ground as I didn't want a healthy fox to get the treat. We were downwind of Limper and after about 15 minutes (I had counted to nearly 1000) he decided it was safe to approach and take his meal. Mr Cruisedog watched with ears pricked but as usual, completely silent and disciplined - I've never had such a clever companion, he knows exactly what I do on our clifftop nightly patrol and it's the highlight of his 'day'. The time flies by out there with the magic of the night ... such are the Tales of Maidencombe ...

A SURPRISE VISITOR

It's been very quiet fox wise out on the cliffs the past few weeks as the vixens are absent and in their earths awaiting birth of cubs. Just a few regulars - most in need of help in one way or another.

However, tonight a surprise visitor - as I was kneeling down way out at the farthest northern point of our nightly patrol - I became aware of a presence to my right. Mr Cruisedog was some way off in another field but I sensed that it wasn't him - a sort of sixth sense which has only been acquired over many years of night walking, told me it was a wild animal. The animal moved in to perhaps five feet away and I could make out a young fox or vixen in immaculate condition. Moving very slowly, I reached in my bag for a chicken thigh (reserved for My Vixen or Meadow Vixen - my favourites) and threw it just in front of the fox. It snatched it up and dashed away into the darkness. I stayed perfectly still and sure enough, the fox came back after a few minutes. It took another two pieces of chicken and then disappeared as Mr Cruisedog sauntered up behind me. A perfectly wild fox which I had never seen before - another magical and rewarding moment out on the clifftops ...