We are fortunate to have a large wooded area behind our house where we can view a variety of wildlife. About 50 yards into the woods is a fox den which has been dug under a fallen tree. The den is not used every year but when it is, we get an opportunity to view fox kits as they play and explore. A few years ago one evening, four kits came onto the backyard patio which activated the motion detector on the outside light. With the yard lit up, the kits ran around and played for few minutes then suddenly left. The light remained on for about ten minutes before turning off. We thought the action was over. Five minutes later the kits were back and as before activated the outside light. What happened next amazed us. When the light came on for the second time, we didn’t pay attention the bugs and beetles on the patio floor that had been attracted by the light. The four kits sure did and had a feast. It was almost as if they knew that the light attracts food.

A few years later another litter of kits emerged from the den. These kits were very skittish and never ventured to the house. We could view the kits from the deck but it wasn’t close enough and there were too many obstructions for a good shot. And whenever the kits saw me they would run back into the den. One morning I got up, grabbed the camera and sat down next to a tree close to the den. The kits were still in the den and I was hoping they wouldn’t notice me when they did come out.

As you can see from the photo above, one of the kits did notice me, and stared at me for about ten seconds, letting me get off a few shots before disappearing back to the den.