Parents hard at work

I have not seen the fox family all together for a while now. They must be well on their way to advanced learning at this point of the development. They seem to be staying primarily nocturnal and crepuscular (appearing at night or near dawn or sunset, respectively). I did see one parent running around in the rain recently and snapped this shot.

It was much more concerned about fishermen walking on the property than me standing by the main building. Maybe they have gotten to know us. Or perhaps they are more interested in what the fishermen may leave behind in the form of fresh free meals. I have noticed the local squirrel population, low as it was, has taken quite a hit. The upper limits of the grasslands at Stratford Point were shielded from the tidal surges of Hurricane Sandy and allowed mammals to survive. This did not happen along much of the coastline and many perished during the storm leaving populations lower than usual. The additional blast from the Blizzard of 2013 also dropped populations further as those that were not prepared for over 30 or 36 inches of snow in a little over 24 hours did not survive. The times are tough in many areas for birds and mammal predators that rely on these small mammal populations but they will rebound very quickly.


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photo by Scott Kruitbosch © Connecticut Audubon Society and not to be reproduced without explicit CAS permission