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snoozefestaudioLast night, Thursday night, was another night with still air. I made bigger paper plate sails by taping three plates together in a cloverleaf arrangement, overlapping so there was no hole in the middle, and with their curves creating a kind of large paraboloid.
I was down in the shop, about 10:30PM to tape the parabaloids together. I hung them on the chimes and then went back to get my tripod with the S8.
While I was getting the tripod, I heard the neighbor's dobermans suddenly going crazy.
As I emerged from the shop into the back yard, I saw a fox run past, coming from the direction of the dobermans, and heading south. He ran right in front of the SCOP, so he was well lit!
The fox was gray, and about the size of a cat, but with taller ears, and a bushy tail.
I Googled, "gray fox illinois," and turned up a picture of, what's actually called, a Gray Fox. And the photo confirmed for me, it's exactly what I saw out there!
I've named him, Zorro, because that's the spanish word for Fox.
They say it's nearly impossible to sight a fox in the wild. So I'll probably never see Zorro again. BUT... I think I've already caught him on audio two times this month!
0--------------------------------------0
"during mating season, the gray fox will sometimes give off a series of sharp barks or yips to attract its mate. It has also been known to growl, snarl, squeal, screech and chuckle. The harsh-sounding screech gray foxes emit is probably the most identifiable sound this species makes."
0--------------------------------------0
I've caught that squeally screach twice now, and one of them is in, Spiritual War & Party Zone. The other is from Wednesday night. Also, I caught the chuckle while recording a TikTok last night. Zorro chuckles just before I hit the record button on the S8.
So, here's how this works...
The neighbors with the Dobermans also have chickens. They keep both the chickens and the dogs in their garage. But the dogs have a doggie door that lets them out into a large cage behind the garage.
The dobermans can go in and out through that door at will, to sleep inside or outside. And I assume the garage is heated, because I've heard them barking in the dead of winter, in the middle of the night.
They also let the chickens out in the yard to feed every day. And let the dogs out into the yard to run at other times.
So, I 'm sure, Zorro has picked up the scent of the chickens... and knows they're in that garage, with their tasty eggs! He's apparently trying to sneak in, probably through that doggie-door. But whenever he does, the dobermans go crazy and chase him away.
------------{=0=}------------
From what I've read, Zorro is omniverous, can climb trees well, has a range of about 2 to 4 square miles, lives in a burrow, hollow tree, brush pile, or rock pile, and is solitary, but monogomous.
Gray Foxes have been adapting to urban and suburban settings for years now, because their main predator is the coyote, and coyotes are less likely to be found around humans.
So... all that said... we have a fox in the neighborhood, and maybe I'll catch him again on tape!
------------{=0=}------------
As for the paper paraboloid sails... they didn't ding the wind chimes a single time in 80 minutes. As I speculated, they do pivot in the very slight air movement, but they don't have enough horozontal movement to strike the keys.
So, I guess I wait for my balloons to get here on Monday and give them a try.
------------{=0=}------------
Also, no sounds from the train yard last night. So that clears it up. Amtrack does their weekly inspections on Wednesday night/ Thursday morning, and that's it.
So my best nights to record crickets will be, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Friday & Saturday there's too much partying going on.
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
I was down in the shop, about 10:30PM to tape the parabaloids together. I hung them on the chimes and then went back to get my tripod with the S8.
While I was getting the tripod, I heard the neighbor's dobermans suddenly going crazy.
As I emerged from the shop into the back yard, I saw a fox run past, coming from the direction of the dobermans, and heading south. He ran right in front of the SCOP, so he was well lit!
The fox was gray, and about the size of a cat, but with taller ears, and a bushy tail.
I Googled, "gray fox illinois," and turned up a picture of, what's actually called, a Gray Fox. And the photo confirmed for me, it's exactly what I saw out there!
I've named him, Zorro, because that's the spanish word for Fox.
They say it's nearly impossible to sight a fox in the wild. So I'll probably never see Zorro again. BUT... I think I've already caught him on audio two times this month!
0--------------------------------------0
"during mating season, the gray fox will sometimes give off a series of sharp barks or yips to attract its mate. It has also been known to growl, snarl, squeal, screech and chuckle. The harsh-sounding screech gray foxes emit is probably the most identifiable sound this species makes."
0--------------------------------------0
I've caught that squeally screach twice now, and one of them is in, Spiritual War & Party Zone. The other is from Wednesday night. Also, I caught the chuckle while recording a TikTok last night. Zorro chuckles just before I hit the record button on the S8.
So, here's how this works...
The neighbors with the Dobermans also have chickens. They keep both the chickens and the dogs in their garage. But the dogs have a doggie door that lets them out into a large cage behind the garage.
The dobermans can go in and out through that door at will, to sleep inside or outside. And I assume the garage is heated, because I've heard them barking in the dead of winter, in the middle of the night.
They also let the chickens out in the yard to feed every day. And let the dogs out into the yard to run at other times.
So, I 'm sure, Zorro has picked up the scent of the chickens... and knows they're in that garage, with their tasty eggs! He's apparently trying to sneak in, probably through that doggie-door. But whenever he does, the dobermans go crazy and chase him away.
From what I've read, Zorro is omniverous, can climb trees well, has a range of about 2 to 4 square miles, lives in a burrow, hollow tree, brush pile, or rock pile, and is solitary, but monogomous.
Gray Foxes have been adapting to urban and suburban settings for years now, because their main predator is the coyote, and coyotes are less likely to be found around humans.
So... all that said... we have a fox in the neighborhood, and maybe I'll catch him again on tape!
As for the paper paraboloid sails... they didn't ding the wind chimes a single time in 80 minutes. As I speculated, they do pivot in the very slight air movement, but they don't have enough horozontal movement to strike the keys.
So, I guess I wait for my balloons to get here on Monday and give them a try.
Also, no sounds from the train yard last night. So that clears it up. Amtrack does their weekly inspections on Wednesday night/ Thursday morning, and that's it.
So my best nights to record crickets will be, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Friday & Saturday there's too much partying going on.
°¦}
