March 6, 2022: Suddenly the Lake is Busy

Deep into a winter of not seeing many larger mammals out and about, this past Tuesday was an active day.  First I caught a coyote running across the lake right at sunrise, taking the shortcut to its favorite hunting grounds - or perhaps returning to its den following an overnight mission of hunting mice.

A coyote in the wide open at sunrise.

It was pretty cold over night; if I were a coyote I would wait until the sun came up, but it's possible that father coyote is hunting both night and day now, as it's mating season.  It's still a little early for giving birth, but the male coyote does all the hunting while the mother remains in the den during whelping and early raising of the new pups.  I will add that I'm not 100 percent sure this was a coyote - it could have been a fox.  I didn't have my telephoto lens on the camera so I didn't get a good picture of it as it trotted across the lake.

The fuzzy photo, thick winter fur, and pink morning sun affecting colors all add a degree of uncertainty, so I reached out to some of my colleagues (thank you!) and the consensus is coyote.  

Two hours later, another furry quadruped took almost the exact same path across the lake.

This time I was prepared, and was able to clearly see it was a bobcat.

I was able to watch it stride calmly across the lake for a while without it noting my presence.

But soon enough its keen senses picked up on the fact that it wasn't alone.

Caught me!

And as soon as it decided it was being watched, it was off to the races.

In a flash it sprinted across the lake and safely into the cover of the forest.

I hadn't seen a bobcat since early winter and I still wonder why they don't spend more time hunting squirrels under the bird feeders - maybe it's their instinct to avoid the human activity around the house.  As fast and ferocious as they are, I still find it impressive that a single bobcat weighing 30 to 40 pounds can take down a full grown white-tailed deer.    

I love seeing these beautiful felines; I think bobcats are the most elegant and poised of our woodland mammals.