San Miguel Island foxes

I spotted three individual island foxes while camping on San Miguel Island which made for a very special and all too brief trip to Channel Islands National Park. This is my fourth subspecies sighting of island foxes and the most elusive of the northern Channel Islands subspecies according to fox biologists I've interacted with. I'm able to tell them apart by their ears and one of them being collared, the tracking being funded by everyone's support of Friends of the Island Fox. I encountered another on a trail in the dark and was unable to capture a photo, though it may have been one of these three. I also caught nocturnal images and video with my camera trap placed near our tent which may or may not be a different fox, as the ear outlines aren't clear.

Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

A fox biologist held this southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata) briefly for us to admire.

Northern elephant seal cow (Mirounga angustirostris)

Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) off of Santa Cruz Island

Yeah, I'm talking about island foxes again...

I have educated guesses about good spots to watch for island foxes on various California Channel Islands. Not unexpectedly, they're creatures of habit to some extent like our mainland bobcat and coyote neighbors. I sat down low on the slope by Banning House Lodge hoping to capture a Catalina Island fox with my 100-400mm lens. When one padded through, there were quite a few people up top eating and drinking in the courtyard which is a shared space for guests to come and go as they please. It didn't take long for some of them to start squealing at the cuteness and conjecturing about what it was. "I thought foxes are black." What? "Oh, look! It's a baaaby!" Nope. "Is it going to come up here and give us rabies?" [sigh] Someone spotted me photographing this charismatic apex predator and tried to shush their crew, but the fox was already on its way down the hill, quite understandably wanting nothing to do with us unless we’ve left food out. If you know me, you're likely aware that my brand of polite in public is a smile and a "hey" before we go on about our respective business, me as quickly as possible. Public speaking is my idea of living hell and I don't enjoy being in large groups, particularly when observing nature, but the comments I heard inspired me to walk up the hill. The intensity of my fox watching was noted by a table of people and I proceeded to present Island Fox Natural History 101 which I only feel somewhat qualified to deliver due to lots of reading, attending online seminars about them and a growing bit of first hand observation. I wrapped things up with the suggestion that they do an Internet search for Friends of the Island Fox if they want to learn more about its life history and ongoing studies and conservation efforts. Hopefully even one of them will follow through with that and maybe even throw a couple of bucks for research said organization's way.

coastal pricklypear (Opuntia littoralis)

Catalina California Quail (Callipepla californica catalinensis)

Looking toward the California mainland past Ship Rock. Word on the street is that it’s a good spot for seeing larger great whites than the juveniles I’ve seen in San Diego.

I hung out inside this bait ball on one of my swims which is always a magical experience.

An old man wishing for younger days .

Hopefully see you again soon, fox.

Island fox "hunt"

What I'm most hoping for when I visit Channel Islands National Park is to see these pint-sized apex predators thriving in their home and ignoring us.  The ranger who met us at the pier for orientation mentioned that some of the foxes are so tame they'll get up on the picnic tables to join us for lunch.  My husband knows how much I love them and wondered aloud what my reaction would be if one hopped up next to me and begged.  As tempted as I might be to make a little friend for the moment, I would not share my food with an island fox. Everything I’ve read about them has taught me that it's in their best interest to forage for native fruits and hunt insects, island deer mice and reptiles. Even snakes.

This fox was wandering around the campground sniffing for dropped snacks and sat down in the sun before curling up to take a short nap as I came closer. It got up again after it drew a larger crowd.

One person wondered aloud if it was breathing.

After walking about a mile from the campground into Scorpion Canyon, I caught sight of alert, cinnamon-colored ears glowing high on the canyonside. Unlike our fox sighting on Santa Rosa Island, we had more time to linger and observe its behavior without fear of missing the boat back to Ventura.

These are heavily cropped 400mm shots of it hunting a snake, quite likely a Santa Cruz Island gophersnake judging by its slightly spotted underside, but I can't say for certain. It cached its prey after biting it behind its neck while shaking it furiously and then continued hunting. There's quite likely a den nearby with fox kits on the way given the time of year.

Santa Cruz Island fox (Urocyon littoralis subspecies santacruzae ) spotted!

Prey located…

The pounce!

Even shooting at 1/400 second, its forehead and ears are ablur here because it was shaking that snake so hard.

You might be able to see faint markings on the unfortunate snake’s underside if you’re checking out this post on a quality monitor.

It appeared to nibble for awhile and then cache its kill.

The hunt continues.

The recovery of this species is a conservation success story and you can read about it here if you're unfamiliar with it. If you'd like to help continue research efforts, consider sending Friends of the Island Fox a few bucks.

Santa Cruz Island has inspired a number of my mixed media paintings. Clicking or tapping on the images of them below will take you to prints of them at Pixel.com.

Anacapa Vista. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Two Ravens. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 13" x 19" (33 x 48cm).

In Search of Island Foxes. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 13" x 19" (33 x 48cm).

The Conversation and Foxfire Oak

My two latest pieces were inspired by encounters with animals in places that are special to me. The pair of crows featured in The Conversation are regulars on our back fence. The flaming red moon, Mars and smoke (why the moon is that color) are also rooted in reality. Smoke was billowing from the Valley Fire to the southeast of us near Alpine, California. It isn’t intended to be a depressing piece, but to encourage thought about climate change and where we choose to build long-term dwellings and businesses. As with all art, it’s also o.k. in my opinion to simply enjoy the imagery and decide what, if anything, it means to you.

Foxfire Oak celebrates both another recent Catalina Island fox sighting (I adore them) and a shapely, old island scrub oak at Wrigley Botanical Garden in Avalon, California. I combined personal experience and folklore in this mixed media painting that’s primarily watercolor with a bit of soft pastel added toward its completion to punch up the cold flames in the tree hollows and the fox’s eyes. Despite being quite different in both the techniques used and the outcome, it’s a bit of an homage to my favorite piece of visual art, New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, made by Utagawa Hiroshige. I was fortunate enough to see an original woodblock print of it at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

If you’re interested in owning either of these originals, please send me a message here. Prints may be purchased through Pixels.com by clicking on the images of the paintings below.

Thanks for supporting living artists.

—Robin Street-Morris

Robin Street-Morris. The Conversation. 2020. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

Robin Street-Morris. Foxfire Oak. 2020. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 140lb hot press paper. 13" x 19" (33 x 48cm).