[Maine-birds] Re: Non-avian: GRAY FOX at Essex Woods, Bangor

Sean et al.;

Just to accumulate the records...I've seen 3 Gray Foxes in Maine.  Two of these were in our yard, the most recent a few days ago.  The third was down the street!  We live in West Bath, between Dam Cove and the New Meadows River.  I have not seen a Red Fox in the immediate area, although they are not that unusual farther down the Phippsburg Peninsula.  Apparently Gray Foxes climb trees.  Now THAT would be a photo op.

mike



On Wednesday, July 9, 2014 9:17:05 PM UTC-4, Sean wrote:

About 7:20 Jeff Webb and I got very good looks at a GRAY FOX on the Watchmaker Street side of the Essex Street woods trails.     We had stopped to look at 2 Eastern Cottontail rabbits that were grazing on the side of the path, passed a runner who disturbed them into bolting, gone a little further toward the "Do Not Enter" field, and turned around.   Walking back along the path we saw the fox standing, then sitting in the path right near where the rabbits had fled into the surrounding swamp.   It was very silver -gray on the sides with a lighter face, and traces of red surrounding and accenting the predominant gray color, and a distinctly darker tail.     Not marked anything like a Red Fox (which I've seen many times but not at Essex).  It was smaller and its head/face were differently shaped... my first thought on seeing the face was that it was Bobcat-like.   At one point while we were watching it with binoculars and it was watching us, it sat down in the middle of the path just like a dog and calmly looked at us until we got within maybe 60 feet, when it trotted into the woods.   Apparently they are uncommon in Maine (?)   I'm not a mammal expert, though I've lived in Maine a long time and seen every larger mammal species other than Lynx.    I thought it might be worth reporting.

 

We went to find Green Herons (I saw 4 individuals there about a week ago, same time of day) but were unsuccessful.    For birds today the place was overrun with Mallards, there were some Cedar Waxwings, Warbling Vireos and Chimney Swifts... nothing really noteworthy.   

 

Sean Smith

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