The one-eyed badger boar returns

Badgers have been very thin on the ground since before Christmas so I was pleased to see my favourite badger approach for a feed early hours Saturday.  The celebrated one-eyed badger boar was given special attention and I waited patiently as he ate two chunks of chub, two chicken thighs and a handful of peanuts.  Satisfied, he dived into the hedge making a crashing noise as he bulldozed his way through.

Familiar faces on show

Though I do not keep nightly written records,  I am aware if one of named foxes goes missing for a number  of nights.  Familiar faces on show early hours Wednesday included One Eye (two nights in a row) and  Becbla (blind vixen) who managed to snatch a chicken thigh thrown to her and escape without being spotted by the three other foxes nearby.
Farther down the combe,  Limper (had an infection in his front paw - gradually improving) approached and was followed closely by two unnamed vixens.
Dear Croucher (knows he will get noticed by lying down with front paws folded and head on the ground - a sign of trust in the animal kingdom) was in his usual place and was duly rewarded.
Nearing the end of our Night Patrol,  a relatively new fox was waiting for us in the same place I had seen him a fortnight or so ago.  I threw a scrap of chicken but both So Cruise and I had to retreat a fair way for the animal to advance and retrieve the morsel.
As has been the case since before Christmas,  no badgers were abroad in the combe.

Return of One Eye

'One Eye' - my one-eyed dog fox  had been missing for a few days and I was becoming a little concerned of his welfare. More worryingly,  foxes hadn't been seen in my garden when I first ventured out for our nightly meander.
It was therefore reassuring to see One Eye appear on the wall when I called.  He stood some way off and I threw him his portion of meat which he seized before retreating into the hedge.
A few minutes later two vixens arrived and it seems that the usual pattern of behaviour has been resumed.
No sign of Becbla, my blind vixen - or indeed any fox in her usual roaming area.  The presence of half a dozen rabbits was confirmation that there were no foxes in the immediate vicinity.   Not a single badger on view anywhere on our rounds.  Not a breath of wind and the visibility was excellent with generous amounts of clear sky.

Becbla the blind vixen - A Christmas Story

Christmas Day began early for myself and So Cruise as we set off for our Night Patrol around Maidencombe just after midnight. There was an extra present in my back pack - a generous slice off So Cruise's Christmas dinner - a leg of lamb. In a fairytale world, its recipient was to be Becbla, my totally blind vixen who depended on me for food. She had gradually lost sight over a period of months, but fortunately had known me when sighted and had taken food at quite close quarters. I was only hopeful that she would be able to take this prize as many factors conspired against her on a nightly basis. She no longer came close, preferring to wait some way off and relying on me to throw her food from anything up to 25 yards. If other foxes were in the vicinity, they would dash up and snatch the food from her jaws as she was unable to defend herself. Her only advantage was her sex - a blind dog fox would have little chance of survival and would be attacked and killed. I had seen her running alongside younger foxes and was fairly sure she had been an 'auntie' in the upbringing of these younger foxes. We arrived at the designated field system just before 1 am and So Cruise, my faithful collie cross, sat and waited as I set off down the side of the hill to see if Becbla was in the vicinity. A quick sweep with a high intensity beam revealed her lying down some 60 yards away and she retreated into a hedgerow as soon as the beam illuminated her - being sensitive to light. Turning my head torch off, I advanced slowly towards the spot where she had been. About 30 yards away, I stopped and waited, knowing from experience that she would probably emerge in a few minutes time - though perhaps in a different area. I was aware of another fox watching me from higher up the field which didn't help matters. If it saw me throw the meat, it would be on it in an instant. Several minutes passed and I was on the point of giving up when the clouds cleared and the area was lit up by a 90% waxing gibbous moon overhead. Then suddenly, I spotted a movement in the hedge about 30 yards off - at the extreme range for throwing accurately. It was now or never, and I threw the meat with a whispered prayer. As the meat was still arcing in the air I whirled and shone my head torch straight at the other watching fox. Dazzled, it turned and fled. Wheeling, I could just make out Becbla searching for the meat which she had heard hit the ground a few feet away. She probed the ground for a few seconds and then I saw her lift her head with the meat in her mouth and she then immediately turned and disappeared with her Christmas meal. The whole episode had seemed to be only a matter of a few minutes, but when I looked at my watch I was surprised to see that it had lasted all of twenty minutes. I hastened up the hill to find So Cruise still waiting patiently for me. As we continued our journey, I reflected on the magical quality of the night and the oh so real Christmas Day story of Becbla, the blind vixen. Her taking of the lamb treat the best Christmas present of them all ...

The blind fox

Our Night Patrol has become much more difficult with one of my foxes which is now completely blind. I noticed a marked dimming of one of its eyes a few months ago and then it failed shortly after.  To my great concern, the other eye followed suit until sight was lost about three weeks ago.  Fortunately,  it had the memory of me and had approached quite close to take food.   The problem now was with the other foxes.  As soon as I threw some food to the afflicted animal,  a fox would 'mug' it, snatching the food from its mouth.
One night, I lost patience (never happened in over 35 years) and chased the offending fox around the field.  This was mightily effective - up to a point.  Not only did all the other foxes retreat the following nights, but the blind fox also was scared by my antics and did not approach as close as before.
Nevertheless,  Mr Cruisedog and I have a workable plan.  I have two head torches, one giving a broad, diffused pool of light and the other a piercing long distance (180 lumen) beam for spotting animals far off. Usually, the broad beam will pick out all animals close or far by picking out their reflective eyes but that doesn't work with the blind fox for obvious reasons.  I use the long beam to pick out the location of the blind fox but have to immediately switch it off as the fox must still have some sense of light and retreats.  Then it's a case of how accurately I throw the food to the fox - if it doesn't land within about two metres, the fox cannot locate it.   So far, the fox has been fed every night for the past week, so fingers crossed.  It probably will not survive the winter, but I would hate for it to starve to death.

Set fair for the winter

Heavy rain Thursday and Friday night saw notable absentees from our nightly rounds.  The one-eyed vixen (lost sight in one eye after injury sustained in either a fight or trailing bramble), in fine condition, thought it prudent to stay under cover and the virtually sightless fox (unsure how - seems to have lost sight gradually) was discouraged from venturing out.
However, all was well when Mr Cruisedog and I went out tonight (early hours Sunday) with both of these animals appearing.  All foxes and badgers are in good condition to see out the winter - the main blessing being the absence of sarcoptic mange in the fox population this year.

Autumn approaches in the combe

Badger and fox population in good order as autumn approaches in the combe.  The one-eyed badger boar is well as is the one-eyed vixen which resides close to my garden.  A limping fox has been observed the past few weeks, a recurring ailment I have noticed with foxes.  Taking their lead from the one-eyed boar, other badgers are bold enough to take bananas from my hand.  Hope to start getting some video footage to post soon.

New foxes in the combe

The latest batch of fox cubs have been evident at one location of our nightly rounds for some time now.  Most have dispersed to forage for food by themselves but two rather malnourished foxes still remain close by their parents and 'auntie' vixens, seemingly unable or unwilling to go it alone.  Only in the last week or so has one very young fox (approx. 4 months) picked up scraps of chicken thrown to it rather than waiting for another fox to take the food and then chase after it screaming to be given some.  I'll try and post some footage in the next few nights.   Badgers are all healthy and quite troublesome as they advance fearlessly to grab food from the foxes after wolfing their own supply down.  Now with food freely available, I will be cutting down on distributing food, only giving to the more timid or malnourished animals.  Fingers crossed, no signs of mange in all my foxes the past winter and now.

Return of the one-eyed badger boar

After being missing for well over3 months and fearing the worst, the celebrated boar appeared in the early hours of today.  Looking thin, he had to be cajoled to approach me, but did so and took some food.  He was accompanied by two other badgers, one a sow and the other a younger male.  Mightily relieved and I'll try and film him if he makes another visit tonight.

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 ...