Fox Tales (flashback)

Some twenty years ago Rodney was my first mentor regarding birding and the appreciation of nature.  He had a way of finding incredible birds while having fun, even goofing off.   He was known to burn the candle at both ends during migration, helping with owl banding at night, and with hawks during the day.   Although I'm more in favor of passive research now, at that time it was a true thrill helping him on rare occasions with his hawk banding research, braving the cold Vermont winter.    

We had great success this one particular weekend, banding a few Rough-legged hawks escaping the Arctic winter for less frigid weather in rural Vermont.   On the second day we were conversing about the use of mouse squeaks to draw in owls.   Rodney had tried it in a field one night and told how he was almost ready to give up when he glanced up to see a Great Horned Owl hovering over him.   We decided to try our luck in a nearby field just before dusk to draw in an owl, or even possibly a hawk.  

We sat against a tree trunk so each would have a different, partially overlapping view of the landscape.  First Rodney tried some mouse squeaks, then I held my hand to my mouth and chimed in.  We alternated, each concentrating on the quality of our calls while looking for any activity.   About fifteen minutes had passed in the dusky light when Rodney nudged me a signal with his elbow.  As I turned slowly toward his viewing angle the sight was not at all what I expected.   The red form was sitting from about twenty feet away, watching us.   We had called in a red fox with our calls.  We drank the experience like a French wine in season, watching as the fox trotted off into obscurity again.  

That experience is always a treasurable memory of my natural awakenings.   It even makes up for the time he woke me up on a long trip home to say we were out of gas, forcing us to sleep three abreast in the back of a pickup, on a night when the temperature reached negative five degrees.   I hope Rodney is still mentoring others in the ways of the natural world, for when it came to wildlife, he was a natural!  Thank you for appreciating our wild and amazing neighbors.