The Surrey Hills are still adorned with snow, and foxes are still leaving neat footprints as records of their presence.



Having had no success at all in finding foxes in the mornings lately, I tried today in early afternoon.



Jackpot! I saw three, actually, but the nearest sighting - the fox above - was extremely short. The other two were foraging to and fro across the frozen fields, sometimes running, sometimes trotting, sometimes pausing to listen and survey the land. They both managed to show me that photographing a very distant animal against a pure white backdrop when the sun is behind clouds is much the same as trying to photograph flying birds on a grey day...but I actually rather liked the effect. The contrast between fox and field is stark.

Winter's fox



Sprinting



Where next?



This fox eventually ran past a barn relatively close to me, and I could see that it had slight mange on its face. I'm pretty sure that it's the same individual that I saw in this exact spot in early January. If so, it has made a good recovery



The Moon was rising as I headed home. More snow is forecast...

The North Downs are encased in ice. I've rarely known a British winter to be so cold for so long, but as the temperature plunges to -8C and all the meadows sparkle with rigid frost, the good times for fox watching return

I don't truly feel cold; I'm used to such temperatures - and far more frigid ones - in Canada, after all. But it does seem odd to see milky streaked clouds in the morning sky, and the dawn is coming each day in a eerie orange glow over the frozen fields, almost reminiscent of the true north. Snow is again forecast to be on the horizon



Even so, January offers some of the year's best opportunities for watching foxes in daylight. Foxes time their hunting activity to the movements of their rodent prey, and voles prefer to be active during the warmer hours at this time of year. Forty minutes outside this morning found me six foxes and, as always, I was struck by how different they all were. I feel that I've rather lost touch with what is happening out in the meadows over the past few months, so it was good to see a variety of foxes again

But the first seemed determined to push my lens to its absolute limit Travelling, rather than hunting, treading lightly across the frozen meadow, and keeping a fine distance away. Actually, 700 feet away, to be precise. I've just measured the distance on google maps This is a heavy crop!



The second was close by a barn, and showed mange on its face I often see foxes with slight mange in this area, and some of them just seem to live with it. I'll try to keep an eye on this fox over the next few weeks, but options for treatment here are quite limited.



The third fox, in contrast, looked in fine health, and was travelling swiftly up the road. It eventually veered off into the meadow where I watched the cubs last spring.



Number Four might be the largest fox in the village right now. He was, again, a long way off, and was also difficult to photograph...but I've never seen a brush as huge as his on any European fox before At least it will make him easy to identify at a distance



The last two were roaming around the frozen tussocks, keeping well within sight of each other. January is the foxes' breeding season so I assume that these two are a pair, although foxes are not strictly monogamous.




__

If the foxes stole the show, other wildlife was hardly absent. Two young roe deer, probably twin siblings, were attempting to graze near a hedgerow.



Apart from grooming each other...



...they were licking the frosted fence wire, clearly thirsty.



These aren't the easiest conditions for most mammals. But those connected with humanity do, at least, get warm coats!

The coming of autumn has been marked by a spectacular increase in bird activity, from the magpie cheekily posing outside my window...



...to the ever-excitable long-tailed tits foraging in noisy groups in the woodlands.



Some of the places where they choose to look for food might be a bit surprising This one was examining a spider's web. Long-tailed tits use webs to help construct their tennis ball-like little nests, but at this time of year it was much more likely searching for food: either the spider's leftovers, or perhaps the spider itself! But the web was in such a poor state that I doubt it found much.



Out in the meadows, a small fox was sitting quietly this evening.



I thought that she was alone, and watching the drifting magpies, but then I spotted a second rufous face



The first fox rose to her feet and trotted across the field. She lunged at something in the grass and began to crunch it. I wondered at first whether she had had a lucky break with some prey, but it turned out to be...a cheese biscuit I know the people who own the horses who graze that field are quite fond of the foxes and obviously sometimes leave leftovers out for them.

The second fox raced with astonishing swiftness from the hedgerow. Food is shared reluctantly amongst adult foxes!



As for magpies, they must seem to be eternal pests! But they didn't steal any crumbs tonight. A virtual cup of coffee is on offer for anyone who spots the second corvid in this picture



These are fine-looking foxes, probably two of the group of four whom I photographed the other day. It is a relief to be finding the meadows dotted with foxes again after the long and often frustrating summer.