The Foxes of Brigantine Beach

In the shadow of the glitz and hustle-bustle of Atlantic City lies one of the most peaceful beaches along the NJ coast. Both the north and south ends of Brigantine beach are quite isolated from the residential areas, and there is no boardwalk to draw throngs of crowds.

I spent a beautiful morning recently along the southern end, where the casinos of A.C. loom across the water. There is a wide area of brush and dunes between the houses and the beach, and this is where I found a bunch of foxes making their home.





I didn't see all of them all at once. First there was just one that peeked out from the tall grass, then another. They stayed near the dunes as I was about 50 feet away on the beach. I was making some progress getting fairly close to one of them that was resting on a pile of sand and leaves. This one was gnawing on a piece of wood that sticking from the sand.





At this point the foxes became spooked by someone walking down the path through the dunes. I thought my morning was done here, and was planning to move on to another location, but I soon discovered that the foxes were not so easily scared away. They came back within a few minutes, and I soon realized that there were at least five different foxes in this area.





I continued shooting them for a while, and even when I decided to finally leave and move on they kept an eye on me as I was walking back down the path. One even made itself very comfortable in the middle of the path, as if to show me the way out.





This was a very enjoyable morning at this peaceful beach. It was the middle of winter, and for much of the time I could not see another soul up or down the beach. The constant breaking of the waves was very relaxing - these foxes have picked a great place to live.

Main Website: Photography by Matt Schrier