I love the song Blackbird by Paul McCartney. But, blackbirds are very territorial when they have young ones in the nest. There is a sunny tree-lined path I like to walk in the summer. I have seen a fox running out of those woods, a doe lying in the sun-drenched grass, and an irate couple of blackbirds diving at my head while I was peacefully walking by their nest of young ones. I had to start carrying a stick to ward them off. Blackbird Fly! Just stay away from me!
**Are Red Foxes Endangered?**
Currently, red foxes do not have such a status. The IUCN claims that the mammals’ population is stable and does not consider red foxes to be endangered. In fact, they also say that their highest population density is in the UK. Up to 30 red foxes per square 0.5km can exist. However, in the UK the red fox population has fallen by about 41% from 1995 until 2017.
There are several large threats to the red fox population, mainly habitat losses and fragmentations, plus exploitation and hunting. Habitat loss is the most serious of them all. Luckily for the species, they are very adaptable and can live in different conditions, which is also one of the reasons foxes have been regular visitors to urbanised areas and people’s yards. They come to look for food, which their natural habitat offers less of.
In the UK, there are some strict rules about dealing with foxes on your property and you can get a serious fine or even get jailed if you do not follow them.
#28 - A collection of ballpoint pen sketches drawn on printer paper & scanned. This is what my lines look like when I'm not using a stabilizer in digital software to get the nicest clean lines. I tried to separate my scanned lines from the various shades of off-white that the scanner picked up. I adjusted the brightness and contrast levels in photoshop but I'm not very knowledgeable on how to achieve the best results.
This is a mushroom illustration done from Dana Fox's watercolor with me book. This one was quite the challenge but I am happy with the way it turned out.
