Hungry Foxes

This has been a hard winter for much of the area’s wildlife. The extended deep cold has taken a lot of energy, and the deep soft snow has made foraging difficult.  We finally had a thaw earlier in the week that thinned the snow pack and made a glaze that allowed  travel over the snow instead of through it.

We are seeing red foxes hunting in the hay field at the edge of our property. This is the ideal habitat of voles, the fox’s favorite prey. Voles burrow along the top of the soil, under the snow, gathering grass. The foxes listen for the sound of burrowing, then with a cat-like pounce they crash through the snow to snap up the hapless vole.