Cats and Happy Friday

Wintertime is always a slow time for my trail cameras. This year has been particularly tough - perhaps because the drought has changed everyone's movement patterns in the forest - both human and wildlife. However, I have captured enough cat photos to keep me amused.

I love the "low view" of a mountain lion that I captured in late January.

I'm guessing that, if a person ever got this particular view of a mountain lion, they might not live to tell about it.

Less than 24 hours later, a similar looking cat showed up a few miles away at a site that is usually choked with a few feet of snow by this point in winter. What a weird year we're having. I can still ride my bike where these lions are pictured, and the cats are still hunting there. Usually, this slope is devoid of life, aside from rabbits and squirrels, at this time of year.

Then, just the other night, I captured a photo of a mountain lion quite near our house. Lions mark this spot a couple of times per year so I keep one of my oldest cams there to document their behavior. This big male left a deep scrape with his hind paws, a huge pair of furrows in the pine needle covered forest floor.

Last, but certainly not least, the bobcats have been around our area extensively. This evening, as the dogs and I finished our walk, we somehow surprised a bobcat who was on our front walk despite the loud jingling of the dogs' bells. At first, I didn't think that the bobcat was going to flee but, when he spotted the two Labs, he bounded up the driveway. Here, I captured a photo of a bobcat, perhaps the same one who we saw tonight, in a nearby forest clearing.

I'll share some more cat photos soon... And, I'm counting down the days until the bears wake up. The bears are my favorite animals in our forest, and I love the season when I can capture their photos in the forest!

In the meantime, Shyla wishes you a Happy Friday!