Fox "Nests" in a Tree

[Hobjob]

Foxes 'nest' in tree - Telegraph

Donna Martell discovered the unlikely den after noticing the young fox club scaling the branches.

It is thought the foxes, which usually live in burrows underground, were escaping the cold conditions.

Miss Martell, 26, and partner Carl Clark, 33, say the family has been living in the tree in their garden an Ipswich, Suffolk since January.

"When I first saw them I called Carl and said there was a cat stuck in the tree," said Miss Martell,

"But when we looked closer we realised it was a fox up there, not just one but two.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them up so high.

"We have lived here since July last year and I had seen some foxes in the garden from time to time but never in the tree.

"I think they must like it up there because there are vines and branches which they can lay on in the sunshine during the day.

"They were probably trying to keep their paws dry and keep out of the cold."

Partner Carl, 33, who works for Marks & Spencer, said the foxes resting in the couple's tree made for a beautiful sight.

He said: "They were beautiful creatures just resting in the sunshine. It was cold but they had a good spot in the sun and they stayed up there most of the day just relaxing and looking snug."

Julian Roughton, Director of Suffolk Wildlife Trust, said it was very unusual for foxes to climb as high as trees and especially make a home in them.

He said: "They are good climbers when they need to be but this is certainly not normal behaviour.

"It might be that they are out and about feeding at night, but during the day they are happy to lay back and bask in a sunny spot.

"And if this spot happens to be in a very safe, secure position then so much the better, so this tree must feel very safe to them."

[Hedgehoggy]

That’s a lovely story, but I don’t think it necessarily means the foxes have truly made this tree their den (although I stand to be corrected!); it sounds like they’re merely doing what lots of foxes love to do, which is to bask in the sunshine somewhere safe and undisturbed during daylight. Where I used to live, the man next door had an active foxes den in his very large plot of land and every year, without fail, after the cubs were old enough to leave the den, the whole family could be seen snoozing on top of his garage roof or lazing about in some of his trees!

Another house I lived in many years ago I used to have a dog fox come bask in the early morning sunshine on the grass in a corner of my garden for a couple of hours. Of course that meant I had to wait for him to finish soaking up the sunrays before I could venture out into my own garden!

[Words]

Over the years I've seen foxes climb the trees in our garden several times, usually hunting for eggs. I've got some video (largeish file so may take a minute or so to load).

I very much doubt it's their 'den', just a resting place in the sun if it is a fairly flat/stable canopy. It's one of those events we simply tend not to observe very often, but it's astonishing to watch them move about as although they're about the same size as a cat they lack the flexibility and it's far from easy for them to stay balanced as they move through. Little surprise that so many foxes get leg injuries!

[Pat]

I've quite often seen my foxes sitting up a tree (I had a pic some where but must have deleted it) it's unusual to see a lot together though because foxes aren't pack animals, they tend to go about on their own most of the time, I think my little vixen is pregnant, she's getting quite tubby cubs should be born about mid April then it's about six weeks before they venture out, can't wait

[shei111]

Its been on our local TV news tonight saying there are now 4 up the tree.!! going high up to get what little sunshine we have i expect. sheila

[mbaldw]

Foxes build arboreal earths occasionally; but as others have said, any time in trees is normally spent either basking or looking for food. However, when it does occur, it can be a quite impressive structure. In their 2001 book Urban Foxes, Steve Harris and Phil Baker wrote:

"In one instance, in a cemetery in Bristol, an evergreen oak had been extensively pruned and shaped, and all the cut twigs and leaves had accumulated in the crown of the tree to form an impenetrable mass amongst the branches. The vixen had climbed into the tree and dug an extensive burrow system amongst the compacted prunings. Here she gave birth to her cubs for several years running, only moving them out of the tree onces they were big enough to play."

Cheers,
Marc.

[Pat]

[quote=mbaldw;437095]Foxes build arboreal earths occasionally; but as others have said, any time in trees is normally spent either basking or looking for food. However, when it does occur, it can be a quite impressive structure. In their 2001 book Urban Foxes, Steve Harris and Phil Baker wrote:

"In one instance, in a cemetery in Bristol, an evergreen oak had been extensively pruned and shaped, and all the cut twigs and leaves had accumulated in the crown of the tree to form an impenetrable mass amongst the branches. The vixen had climbed into the tree and dug an extensive burrow system amongst the compacted prunings. Here she gave birth to her cubs for several years running, only moving them out of the tree onces they were big enough to play."
Hello Marc, Long time no hear! As you can see I'm still involved with my foxes They've got quite a little community in the wood now, I tend to feed them in there now because when the cubs come along they won't have to cross the lane to get their food

[Words]

Pat, glad to hear you're still seeeing your foxes. Mine have become eerily shy. I'm currently experiemnting with a wireless attachment on the camera so I can photograph them from inside the house... works fine, apart from a total lack of foxes when I've been watching But this is only the second night of trying!

[Pat]

Hi Paul. Funny you should say about the shyness, my lot have become very shy too, I wonder why the little vixen who used to wait for me every night and eat at my feet only comes out to eat the food when I walk away, do you think it could be because she's pregnant and feels a bit vulnerable? Also there aren't so many as there used to be, at the end of the summer last year we counted at least 14 but now there are only 5 that we've seen recently,Any idea why this should be? with yours and Marc's knowledge of foxes perhaps one of you can come up with an answer.BTW I still find your site very interesting

[mbaldw]

Hi Pat,

it's nice to hear that you're still enjoying the company of your foxes! It's annoying that my parent's decided to retire to Cornwall, so I've lost my base in Horsham which was great for getting out to see you and your foxes

my lot have become very shy too, I wonder why the little vixen who used to wait for me every night and eat at my feet only comes out to eat the food when I walk away, do you think it could be because she's pregnant and feels a bit vulnerable?

That seems reasonable. If she is 'with cub' she may well give you, and probably other foxes too, a wide berth. As you say, depending on how far through her gestation she is, she may be getting too weighed down to make the same quick exit that she used to (making her more cautious of approaching moving objects).

Also there aren't so many as there used to be, at the end of the summer last year we counted at least 14 but now there are only 5 that we've seen recently,Any idea why this should be?

I'm sure Paul can add some insights here, but males will often move greater distances during the breeding season, looking for receptive females. It may be that many of your males are still out-and-about looking for any late-breeding females with whom they can mate. Alternatively, it may be that females are out searching for potential breeding earths and have less time for raiding your food pile. In other words, there may not be a decrease in the number of foxes in your area; you may just be observing a change in their activity/behaviour.

In addition to the above, I'm wondering whether the current economic climate has caused a reduction in householders putting out food for their local foxes. The high Red fox densities that we see in UK cities, is largely a result of an super-abundance of food and habitat. In theory, when the food is reduced, the foxes expand their territories to include more potential hunting ground (although the extent of this will depend on how much surplus food had been available and by how much it was reduced) and the foxes that had been tolerated in the territory -- e.g. family members -- may be kicked out and forced to move further afield looking for grub. This is purely a supposition on my part, but it would be interesting to see whether the long-term monitoring of Bristol's fox population by Prof. Harris et al will report anything along this line.

Cheers,
Marc.