Lynx / Bobcats and Birds don't mix...



A Lynx or Bobcat appeared on the trail in front of me, Crystal Cove State Park, California; 6/17/2011.

Val and I returned to Rockford, IL, in late June from a two week vacation travelling to the Southwest and south central. On June 10, we started driving across the Great Plains of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and eastern Colorado, before we hit the Rockies in central Colorado. We then dipped south through Utah, Arizona and ended up in Southern California. We stayed in Southern California for a week before making our way back to the Midwest via Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missourri. Although the primary reason for our trip was to visit relatives in Cal and Tex., I though I'd use the oppurtunity to do some west coast and southwest birding. Along with good birding, another species of wildlife turned out to be a highlight (Above).

My birding goal for this trip was to pass 300 on my Life List of birds. I started the trip with my Life List at 291 birds and 131 different species for 2011. We planned our trip out west with a stop in Nebraska's Rowe Wildlife Sanctuary, but rainy weather and dark skies put a damper on good birding. I saw over 30 different species in the hour or so we were there, but nothing new to add to my Life List and certainly no photos worth keeping, but added two new birds to my 2011 Year List: Western Meadowlark and the Ring-necked Pheasant (132 & 133).

The Lynx/bobcat turned and started walking towards me...

Overall, the two-week trip was a fun and successful for birding, with me being able to add 54 species to my 2011 Year List and 29 new species to my Life List, to put me at 185 for 2011 and 320 for Life. For the rest of my summer posts, I will highlight photos of the different birds that I saw along the trip.But today, I am not going to show pics of Birds - a first. One of the highlights of the trip (and not of a bird) was while I was on a hiking trail in Crystal Cove State Park near Newport Beach, California. I just finished taking a picture of a Greater Roadrunner when I turned around and saw what I initially thought was a bobcat. But then I thought that a bobcat is more stocky and wouldn't likely stay visble with humans around. I thought it was more Lynx like. This big cat (Above) not only hung around for what seemed like an eternity, but totally ignored me and walked right past me. I took almost 30 photos of this cat before it finally disappeared in the brush.    

It stopped to look at something in the brush...

Later, upon research, I found dicrepencies about the differences between a bobcat and a lynx. Other people on the trail who saw this cat said it was a bobcat. Some sources say that lynx do not exist in California ( they are a more North Woods cat - Canada), but bobcats exist in all habitat throughout the U.S. Other sources state that bobcats are a species of lynx known as 'lynx rufus.' Still other sources described the differences between lynx and bobcats as two separate types of cats. I even found a short video on youtube that showed a fight between a bobcat and a lynx. But almost all my reading on the topic made note that both lynx and bobcats try to avoid human contact and are rarely seen. In this case, I couldn't believe that this particular cat was so bold and didn't run away. Only two of the following photos have been cropped. That's how close this cat was.

then continued on the trail towards me ...

... it came nearer ...

... and nearer ...

... and nearer ...

He came so close that my zoom lens (150 - 500mm) couldn't focus on it ...

He walked right next to me not more than 4 feet from me, totally ignoring me as if I wasn't even there ...

... and then past me (far away enough for my camera could refocus again) ...

... and kept going ...

... it saw or heard something in the brush ...

... and stopped to investigate ...

Then it sat down and patiently waited for something ...

After a bit it moved on down the trail, and later it was scared into the brush by a couple of bicyclists, Crystal Cove State Park, Newport Beach, CA; 6/17/2011.

I would estimate that this cat was about 2 feet high at the shoulders and about 3-4 feet long (not including the tail). Below are a couple of links (not lynx) to information about bobcats and lynx...

http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/bobcat.php

http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/lynx.php

http://ds.dial.pipex.com/agarman/bco/spec_nam.htm

I guess, after reading the information from the links (not bobcats) above, what I saw on the trail was a bobcat.

Starting tomorrow, I will go back to highlighting birds (except for a few dolphins, seals, and walruses sprinkled in now and then)...

Sunset of the Day

A The sunset in Crystal Cove State Park, the first evening we arrived in Newport Beach, CA; 6/12/2011.