21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Tale of the fox and the redshank

About an hour after sunrise, the birds began to scream in the reeds. The voice did not stop, in fact it sounded closer and closer. All of a sudden, two spotted redshanks (Tringa erythropus) flew out into the open water, beeping loudly and jumping. A fox (Vulpes) was jogging behind them. From time to time, the redshanks landed, flown away and landed again in front of the fox chirping brightly, luring them further and further away from the reeds. 'Catch me if you can' was apparently the name of the game they were playing. A few more redshanks joined the game, and at this point the fox realized that he lost today. He stopped, looked at the birds for a while, then slowly walked away. The redshanks must have tried to keep it away from the nest, this time with success.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2021
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Hungary
Camera: NIKON D850
Copyright: © Krisztina Szakolczai