Wildlife Photographic Journals

Hungary for Birds - Day 3: Close encounters of the Fox kind

As we sat in the drinking pool hide, the temperature started to increase in the afternoon and there was a mid-afternoon lull in activity. My companion Gerhard decided to make the most of the quiet moment and indulge himself in a bit of a siesta to recharge his batteries after the early morning start. I decided to stay awake and on 'lookout' duty just in case something unusual happened to arrive.

I sat their watching flies buzzing around across the surface of the tranquil woodland pool, serenaded  by the exquisite song of a distant Nightingale in woodland behind which could just be heard above the slow snoring from the corner of the hide. I must admit I was struggling to stay awake myself when the head of young fox appeared at the end of the pool which immediately jolted me back in to life.

The opportunity to photograph foxes occurs fairly infrequently and is always a real pleasure. They are such attractive and photogenic animals. However, occasionally they are in very poor condition but this one was in good condition. This young one had obviously decided to visit the pool to quench its thirst. It is at moments like this when you wish you had decided to pack another lens. For the trip I had only brought my 300 and 500mm lenses and what I really needed now for a fox at such close quarters was the flexibility of the 70-200mm. So I had to make do with the 300mm which met the need while the fox was at the far end but left me only able to take head photos as it came closer to the hide. Close it did come with its nose pressed up against the special one way glass at one point.

The fox did not stay long before disappearing back in to the undergrowth so we decided to see if we could entice it back with a bit of chicken from one of the sandwiches. Half an hour later it put in another appearance and got a free snack for its efforts.

So this post really finishes off Day 3 in Hungary, a busy but enjoyable and relaxing session with a great variety of birds and the magic of the fox. Back at the hotel in the evening the plans were hatched for the next day's photography. The weather forecast was not looking promising with some rain forecast and overcast skies so it was decided that we spend the following day photographing some much large birds in what was known as the 'Egret hide' which will be the subject of my next post. My camera shutter finger was already twitching in anticipation.