Our local bobcat decided to accommodate me as I tested out my new camera. Thanks to the neighborhood hawks, there were a couple of newly-deceased chickens available to lure him in. Though he appears a bit tentative at first, the cat soon decides that the bantam feast is way too appealing to pass up.
Wow, those are simply amazing photos! Are those two different camera placements? How often did the bobcat return?
ReplyDeleteWow, indeed. Beautiful shots of a gorgeous guy. Nice work, Susan!
ReplyDeleteNo, only one placement; I just did some cropping. The cat paid three visits. His first was for six minutes, then back again a half-hour later for a few more, and one final brief one another hour and a half or so after that. There was evidence of where he dragged and ate at least one of the birds, so I'm guessing he hung out in the general vicinity while he dined. I got quite a number of shots of the cat, but the second half of them were out-of-focus. The camera got confused somehow. A few hours after he vacated the area, a fisher came around to check it out. I got shots of its whiskers and butt.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I might have another chicken for you. A sharp shinned hawk snatched one of my hens while they were scratching around near the coop this afternoon. I rushed out as soon as I heard them squawk in terror, and that's usually enough to scare off the aerial predator (we've had many incidents). But this hawk was not to be intimidated. I had to pull it off, picking the talons from the hen. Once disengaged, it flew into a tree.
The girls all fled to various hiding places, while our young rooster, Mr. Meatball, strutted about the driveway, shouting avian expletives to the hawk. The latter was perched on a branch 5-10 feet above my head, and would not leave until I hurled rocks and pine cones at it (and chimed in with Mr. Meatball's expletives).
The hen is able to move about normally, but I noticed a few drops of blood in the coop. She's one of the older girls who has been slowing down, and I've been thinking she'd be the next one to go, anyway. I might have let the hawk have her, but do not want the local predators to make a habit of dining here. Also, I find it nearly impossible to resist the natural instinct to defend one of my own.
If she doesn't make it through the night, she's yours for the taking.
Susan, these bobcat photos are beautiful. They rival Dan's triple otter. Remarkable.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lars, but I'd be a knucklehead to think that my Felix could trump Dan's Moe, Larry & Curly. Nyuk, nyuk.
ReplyDeleteI think these are even better than ferocious fisher, which I liked more than triple otter. But maybe that's because I'm partial to felines.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Dan.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I replied to you in the comments section of the mountain lion post you commented on.
ReplyDeleteYour blog looks very interesting! I'll be exploring.
I love the wildlife cameras. I have four now. They became addictive once I figured out how to read animal signs to know where to put them.
Nashaway people,
ReplyDeleteClick on KB and check out the footage of mt. lion at deer carcass on her blog. You won't be disappointed!
where were these pictures taken?
ReplyDeleteOurs is a rural community in Central Mass.
ReplyDelete