Bobcat in Our Bodega Bay Backyard!

As I was tidying up the house yesterday afternoon, I glanced out the window and saw a huge bobcat sitting in our backyard! Not out in the open space where we usually see them, this guy was sitting right where I'd been playing with our dog about ten minutes earlier. I ran and got my husband and the camera. (Unfortunately the battery was low so the photos came out soft and overexposed.)

Then the strangest thing happened! When my husband went out on the deck to photograph the bobcat, instead of ignoring us like they usually do, this one got up and started trotting right toward us. For a moment, I thought he was going to leap right up onto the deck and attack us as though we were paparazzi! Then at the last second he abruptly turned right instead, and ran alongside bushes underneath us. Wow, I'd never seen that behavior before. I wonder what was up? Bobcats usually seem disinterested in humans and if we give them plenty of space, they calmly go on about their business. This guy was different. Maybe he had been harassed or hurt by someone?



Just before disappearing around the side of our house, he stopped to glance back up at us.



Hoping for another glimpse, we ran to the front door just in time to see him crossing the street. He wasn't pleased to see us again, he looked scared. He didn't strut off slowly the way so many others have done. This guy was spooked and took off running. How sad, I wonder what happened to him?



I don't recall seeing this particular bobcat before. Last spring, a litter of three were born and raised in the ravine nearby but they haven't been around for a few months. Maybe he's one of them, just more mature now? He's much larger, his coloring is lighter and less spotted, no ear tufts, and he had longer "ruff," fur on the sides of his face. For comparison, you can see other bobcat photos from previous posts here and here. What a wild experience, I LOVE living in Bodega Bay!!!

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Bodega Bay Bobcats

There's a family of bobcats living in our Bodega Bay neighborhood. Over the past couple of months, I've seen at least one a day. Our neighbors saw four a few weeks ago. They're usually walking along in the coastal meadows searching for prey, or crouched down, patiently waiting to nab one of the ubiquitous gophers or moles out here.

There appears to be a mother and three kittens. Although they're nearly grown now, the kittens are still playful. One day I watched as the mom stood in the middle of a road, waiting patiently until her kitten came prancing through the brush and joined her. I then watched her strut regally across the road and through a grassy field while the younger bobcat romped along beside her. The bobcats seem oblivious to the presence of humans. We keep our distance and they simply ignore us.

I read that the female raises her young alone. They're usually born in spring, and that coincides with the time a neighbor reported seeing a mother with tiny little kittens peaking out from under a shrub. Young bobcats start exploring their surroundings at four weeks and are weaned at about two months. Within three to five months they begin to travel with their mother. They start hunting by themselves by fall of their first year and usually disperse shortly thereafter. So sadly that means some of them may move on to new territory soon. I've really come to enjoy my daily bobcat sightings, I hope they don't all leave. Goodness knows there are enough rodents around to keep them well-fed for a long time.

My husband got some good shots recently. Unfortunately, whatever this bobcat was after got away.

It's Mating Season, Deer

Yesterday my daughter ran up to me and whispered urgently, "Mom, there's a deer looking in our window!" I followed her over to the front door and sure enough, there stood a beautiful buck with two point antlers, staring back at us through the glass. I ran to get my camera, thinking he'd probably be long gone by the time I got back but nope, he had just started wandering casually out toward our front yard.


We watched him for quite a while and took several photos. His casual demeanor and lack of concern about us actually made us a little concerned about him. Why wouldn't he run away? Then, we suddenly spied another smaller deer curled up under a nearby bush in our front yard. We couldn't get close enough to see if it still had fawn spots but it didn't look adult-size. (I couldn't get close enough for a photo.) Okay, so why would a buck be hovering around protectively over a juvenile that appeared to be hiding? If this was a doe, she'd instinctively try to lead us away from her baby, but this guy was hovering around and refusing to leave.


We decided to call Sonoma County's wonderful, long-time deer expert Marjorie Davis of the Wildlife Fawn Rescue, to ask what was up. After asking us a number of questions, she figured it out. Turns out it's mating season! The small deer under the bush was probably a young female, possibly not quite old enough for mating. Marjorie said it was probably not a fawn because they've all been weaned by now and can eat on their own.

Regardless of the young doe's age, the buck was interested and he was sticking close by. Marjorie cautioned us not to approach him because he could get aggressive under the circumstances. We continued to observe them off and on over the next half hour or so and at one point, the doe must have made a decision to run for it because just like that, both of them were gone! We looked around the surrounding area but couldn't find a trace of either of them.

But get this! While searching for the deer out back, we instead saw a bobcat trotting through the meadow carrying lunch (a rodent) in its mouth. Too bad I didn't have the camera for that one.

Wow! All these exciting close encounters with nature in beautiful Bodega Bay! It's hard to get any work done around here.

Resource:
Wildlife Fawn Rescue
707-931-4550

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It’s a Wild Life in Bodega Bay!

We’ve had some amazing wildlife sightings lately and my husband was fortunate enough get some photos. Warning, these shots are not for the squeamish. But if you've got the stomach for it, you can click on them to enlarge.

The other evening, we went for a walk and happened upon this egret eating her dinner-yikes! I know it’s the circle of life and all that, but who doesn’t feel sorry for this little mouse? I didn’t even know egrets were meat-eaters. But sure enough they eat mice, lizards, gophers, frogs, even snakes.





We’ve also seen a few more bobcats, including this one across the street from our house.



A friend told us he spotted a mother bobcat and two cubs in the neighborhood recently. He was driving down the road and saw her just as she was stepping over the curb. She quickly retreated when he approached, but as he drove past he saw two curious little cub faces peeking out from the brush beside her!

And here’s a beautiful great blue heron that I passed on a walk the other day.



We were also recently thrilled to see the doe and her twin fawns that were born in the meadow behind our house in May. I wrote about them here and here. The fawns are nearly as big as their mother now but they're still covered in adorable white spots. We couldn't get a good photo because they kept to the bushes, but we'll keep trying.

A Beautiful Day in Bodega Bay

It’s another spectacular day in Bodega Bay! The sun is shining, the sky is blue and the water is sparkling. There’s a slight breeze and families are flying kites down on the beach.


Flowers are starting to bloom so I took a few shots on my walk today. Yesterday was the first day of spring. We’re not in full-blown wildflower season yet, but it’s coming. (If you click on the photos, they will enlarge.)



While shooting this field of wildflowers, a bobcat jumped out and darted away. Rather than running in a straight line, he darted back and forth, looked back at me, and zigzaged a few more times until he disappeared in the meadow. I often see bobcats this time of day so I was on the look-out but nevertheless I think we startled each other. The local bobcats usually ignore people and can be aloof, but this guy didn’t feel like sticking around for a photo op today.

Looking toward Tomales Point, Tomales Bay, and Dillon Beach.


Check out this tiny red hummingbird!

A neighbor and I were marveling about the amazing weather and how it’s one of Bodega Bay’s best-kept secrets. She and her husband attended the Barrel Tasting events here in Sonoma County recently and someone commented to her, “Oh too bad it’s so foggy in Bodega Bay.” We both laughed because we used to think so too, before we moved here. The truth is, it isn’t foggy nearly as often as people seem to think, and when it is, it comes and goes. The weather here is dynamic, changing frequently throughout the day. Sun, fog, wind, rain, it’s all part of the wonderful, vibrant life at the coast.

We Have Bobcats!

A neighbor told us there are at least three bobcats that live down in the ravine but we’ve only seen one at a time. Last fall, a real skinny bobcat used to walk through our yard regularly on his way to the meadow behind us. Once he came right past our front door, slowly sauntering with his head bobbing gently from side to side, checking out the scene. I watched from the window, maybe five feet away. He was much larger than a housecat and had huge feet. He was a little scrawny, his tan, spotted fur was scuffed and scarred, and looked as though he’d had a tough life. His big ears were tufted in black and of course he had the telltale bobbed tail. He walked with his mouth partly open, similar to domestic cats when they’re flehming. “Flehming” is when they draw air into their mouths so that the "jacobson's organ" at the roof of its mouth can send signals to the brain regarding the scent of an object. I guess bobcats do that too.

In September, there were some mountain lion sightings in our area and the bobcats disappeared. The mountain lion was spotted on the golf course, near some homes and on some hiking trails. Bobcats are one thing but an encounter with a mountain lion can be very dangerous. I stopped going for walks alone and was extra-cautious when taking the dogs out to do their business on leashes. After a month or so, the deer began reappearing in the neighborhood and the park ranger said that’s usually a sign the mountain lion has moved on.

Recently we've been seeing a beautiful, well-fed bobcat hanging around our area. He too strolls through our yard out to the meadow in back. I don’t think he’s the same cat from last fall. This guy looks much healthier and plumped up, and his coat is a gorgeous orange-tan with dark spots. He’s a real beauty, his white ears are tufted in black and his bobbed tail has a funny curve. Not sure if it’s a congenital defect or the result of an injury.

I’ve learned that our local bobcats basically ignore humans as long as you give them plenty of space (we’ve photographed them many times from a distance). They are often hidden in the tall grasses of the meadows starring intently down gopher holes waiting patiently for a meal, while hikers unknowingly walk right past.

A neighbor told me that one day while walking along the paved road, he heard a rustle in a bush not more than a few feet away. He looked down just in time to see a bobcat emerge with a small rabbit in its mouth. The bobcat glanced briefly at our neighbor and then trotted away to sit in the field and enjoy his catch. Boy, was that a close encounter with nature!