Fox hunting, part one

A few days after I arrived in Maine this summer, I heard that there were foxes in the neighborhood.  Since I had heard about the foxes before -- but failed to find them -- I wasn't very optimistic about my chances this year either.  However, my expectations could hardly have been more wrong.  I saw one of the foxes the very next time I went outside!

An early encounter with one of the neighborhood foxes.  When I yelled out "fox!", it startled me by turning back and taking several steps toward me.

Moreover, encountering the foxes became a regular occurrence.  At first, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.  But then, I discovered how to locate the foxes with high reliability -- by following the sound of the crows.

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Usually, the crows would 'caw' just three or four times before pausing.  Therefore, when I heard them calling continuously (and harshly even for crows), I went to investigate.  The crows were perched up in a tree looking down at tall grass.  A few moments of scrutinizing the grass revealed a fox gazing back at me.  When the fox dashed off, the crows flew after it, still cawing.  After that, the crows became my fox alert system.  They nearly always led me to a fox, although there were a couple of easily forgivable false alarms triggered by a bald eagle flying overhead and a falcon chasing a baby squirrel around a tree.