Back in January there was a very bold Red Fox hanging about the access road at Rainbow Haven provincial park.

This went on for about a week and rumors started circulating that the fox had Rabies.  I thought not, perfectly healthy lovely creature.

My friend Susan suggested it must be a male fox, protecting the female in the den who was pregnant.  Research told me it was just a little early for that, however it was a mild winter and not outside of normal. 

We had been smelling that the fox had been marking in previous weeks, and as there are always fox kits born at Rainbow Haven each year, I figured that a pregnant fox was in fact the most likely explanation.

Going back through photos from previous years of fox kits, I predicted the kits to be 2-3 weeks earlier and marked the date to go see what I could find.

My photos didn’t turn out exactly as I had hoped as there was a nest of hungry wood ticks right by the den which created a fair bit of anxiety for me even with white, deet-covered socks, and also the foliage obscured the view and if I tried to get closer the kits would spook and hide, but all that aside for me it was still a wondrous experience.

Watching these young teeny fox kits play was a definite highlight of my spring.

Although they will never be print-quality shots without a month of Photoshopping I’m not willing to do, I love these shots. Hope you do too.