A Few Red Foxes

Was a very slow morning until the park ranger showed up. Seems they like him. He would whistle and they would come a running. I guess most of these foxes have names from the local people who frequent the park. This is Grumpy.

Grumpy again.

.

.

Beautiful shots Brian. That 3rd one is majestic. What a shot!

Great stuff Brian.

Great stuff, sharp and colorful. I'd say 1-3 are superior to #4 by a good margin.

#1 and 3 are fantastic

Thanks for the comments.

This was my second attempt at getting these foxes. After much frustration at missing wildlife opportunities I finally broke down and got me a some real glass, the Nikon 200-400. What a amazing lens. But even with this lens, it's still not easy. Dan, Dave, and others just make it look easy with all their great shots.

Thanks again.

Love the head on perspective of #1. You put that new lens to great use here.

I rented that 200-400 for the fall and I'd agree - truly awesome. #1 on my wish list!

Beautiful shots Brian. The red against the varied white and blue banner on #1 is my favorite, but all of them are very good.

Mel-

Exactly what Mel said! Love every single thing about #1.

Where were these taken?

Sweet looking stuff all of em. Love the motion to #1.

RV

Beautiful--they're all awesome!! Yes fill us in, what park you are referring to?

Dan Walters stomping grounds, Prospect Park in Wheat Ridge. I learned the location from Dan, and I met a few locals and the park ranger there who showed me where all the dens were.

Brian... a few red foxes eh? Some of the most beautiful photographs I have ever seen or red foxes!!! Wow.... I love all of them... great job Brian...!!!

These are really incredible! Looks like you're making the best of your new purchase

I;ll go with #1, but I really like them all.

Outstanding. Thanks for sharing the location too. My pal Dave Bartlett and I will get there soon, I bet. Dave has that Nikon 200-400mm too.

Hi Brian - I ran into you there the last couple of days. Looks like you got some great images.

Jay - Ya, soon as you left, three of them came out and it was pretty much non stop for about a hour or so. Grumpy, Scarface (Grumpy's mate), and one other I didn't get the name of. The park ranger and another guy were educating me on all the different names.

Special thanks to Jay, as he and a few others showed me where all the good spots where.

Again thanks for all the kind comments from everyone.

Fantastic series of shots, Brian. People aren't still throwing dog bone treats to these guys, are they? They were doing that a few years back to get close up shots.

Morris, i googled Prospect and actually found a shot of people feeding them dog bones! Kind of sad, i used to think these were really wild foxes but apparently they are so accustomed to people you can practically shoot them with a wide angle. Ah well...there still terrific shots!

Yup, nice shots indeed! I love foxes. Used to have a den at our last house but aggghhhhh no camera then! These are very nice!

Morris, i googled Prospect and actually found a shot of people feeding them dog bones! Kind of sad, i used to think these were really wild foxes but apparently they are so accustomed to people you can practically shoot them with a wide angle. Ah well...there still terrific shots!

I couldn't tell you if they are feeding them or not, I can only assure you that I wasn't. I've only been up there twice. From talking to a few people up there, the storms from this last summer really did a number on them and thinned them out. It's just been more recent they have started coming back. I'd say Dan probably knows the best info.

I'd agree Stan, it's sad if people are feeding them, but I'm not sure I wouldn't call them wild just becuase they are use to people. I don't think there was anyway I could have approached them with a wide angle lens. That would kind of be like calling the Elk in RMNP not wild cause they seem to be pretty use to people as well.

Some people do feed them - there are locals who know many generations of foxes there in the park and feed them regularly. I know of at least 1 person who's been ticketed for feeding wildlife there. There are others who leave food out for the birds and squirrels, and the foxes, being the little opportunistic feeders that they are, eat the seed and nuts.

And just because they are being feed at times doesn't mean the foxes aren't wild. Some are more habituated to humans than others, though. Some pass by withing a few meters, and some won't come out from the brush with people around. None are what I would consider tame, just more tolerant of humans.

I always feel a bit of a moral dilemma when photographing there: on one hand, I'm ethically opposed to feeding wildlife, but on the other hand, I do benefit indirectly from it.

Great images Brian! Love the eye contact and the low angle in the first image.

Wow, fantastic. I love everything about # 1...the lighting, the focus, the detail down to its whiskers. Great shots.