Young country diary: The foxes and I have been watching each other closely

London: In spring the family of foxes stared at us while we gardened. Now I'm watching them as the cubs have grown up, ready to leaveI have been watching a family of foxes through my bedroom window for a long time now. Today I decided to record 15 minutes of one of the fox's days. It went like this: 12:30pm - the fox is asleep, 12:40pm - the fox is still asleep (foxes are mainly nocturnal animals and sleep up to 10 hours during the day), 12:52pm - the fox wakes up and walks out of sight, probably to go through some bins or steal our garden gloves, 12:54pm - the fox jumps on top of the shed, 12:54pm - the fox is asleep again.Many urban foxes find shelter around people's gardens. This can include under sheds, in bushes, behind bins or in their own burrows, called earths. In spring, baby foxes are born, and when we're gardening they stare at us through the bushes, or quickly pass through when our backs are turned. I know I should clap and scare them away, but the cubs grow up bold, and it's peaceful sometimes to pull up weeds and pretend you can't see the amber eyes watching you. Continue reading...