Know your subject

We were walking through Apse Wood when we disturbed a fox carrying a very large chicken - presumably from the nearby chicken farm. The fox was startled and was unable to run whilst holding onto the chicken, so made a snap decision to drop the chicken and disappear into the undergrowth.


One of the first rules of wildlife photography is to know your subject - we knew the fox would not be happy leaving a meal like this behind. Plus the fact that we could hear the alarm calls from the birds in the canopy told us it hadn't gone very far. We therefore hid behind a sweet chestnut stool, focussed the camera on the chicken and quietly waited.

After about 15 minutes the fox cautiously came out of the undergrowth and I started firing off a succession of shots. We were rewarded with some great photos which show the size of the chicken in relation to the fox. I'm certain a good meal was had that day.