Technique Q&A: Getting up close to a fox unnoticed

A Mark says: Foxes are without doubt one of the most observant animals out there, with a sixth sense when all is not well. That said, a fox tends to rely on not just visual warnings but sound and smell also. Often you can go unnoticed by a fox from only a few yards by keeping still and quiet.

Generally, beyond 200 yards a fox will not notice small movements – its eyesight seems more geared around things a little closer.

Sitting in a high seat over a bait site is an excellent way to get a close-range shot, along with remote control electronic callers where the fox is being drawn towards the caller and doesn’t see you tucked away on the sidelines.

I’ve been lying in the middle of a field before and had foxes walk to within 10 yards of me, see me and arch around me, unsure what I am simply because I’ve not moved. I was once sat by a fence waiting for rabbits when a fox passed through the hedge beside me, jumped over my feet, nosed around in the grass a few yards in front of me before trotting off, still none the wiser as to my presence – simply because I never moved a muscle.