Another Bobcat in the Yard

February 13, 2014October 3, 2020Leave a comment

I should know better than to just ignore Pan when I see he’s staring out the window. The second time I walked by I stopped to look and… oh, hey! There’s another bobcat – and it’s in the front yard this time! Or maybe it’s the same one I keep seeing in the open space behind my house. Anyway, by the time I ran upstairs to get the camera, he was following the driveway out of the front yard, but not before stopping to mark his territory. It was dusk and getting dark, but I boosted the video a bit:

I went outside to say hi but he wasn’t interested in chatting. Presumably he’s looking for the rabbits I sometimes see – or maybe the field mice that escape Pan’s fenced off domain. I followed him down the driveway a bit, scaring off the deer, before he disappeared into the brush.

Another Bobcat Visit

March 28, 2013October 3, 2020Leave a comment

I had another bobcat visit/sighting this morning at my home in the hills above Santa Cruz — and once again a deer drove it off:

Not a Happy Bat

July 18, 2012October 3, 2020Leave a comment

This little guy was not having a good day. Presumably one of my cats caught him last night. I saw his tiny dark form on the porch last night when I let Pan and Hera in, but I assumed it was the remains of another mouse for me to clean up later.

I was surprised in the morning to discover it was a little bat and that he was still alive — squirming occasionally on his back. I got some cardboard to turn him over and he shrieked a bit but still laid there. He clearly wasn’t feeling too great. Rather than let Pan and Hera mess with him, I decided to carry him into the front yard. He squealed a bit and started hissing and showing his teeth. That explains why Pan gave his little form such a wide berth coming in last night — I thought it odd at the time.

Anyway, I carried him into the front yard where the cats couldn’t get him, but of course there are plenty of birds…. And yeah, just an hour or so later I saw several large birds around where I had left him and went over to find him curled up, no longer moving and… covered in ants. Yeah, wasn’t a good day for the bat.

New Baby in the Neighborhood

July 1, 2012October 3, 2020Leave a comment

Look who was being given a tour of my yard this morning by his/her parents….

After taking these pictures, I went out to explain to the deer that I’d really prefer if they would do their grazing on the other side of the wall but they didn’t stick around to listen to me.

Spoiler Fence

April 13, 2012October 3, 2020Leave a comment

While trying to set up this shot with my cats framing the coyote, I failed to also catch the deer behind the coyote. It just walked out of the frame to the left by the time I got this shot. It’s a wildlife party!

Next time I’ll try to catch the deer behind the coyote in front of a gopher as a hawk dives for it — all framed by Pan and Hera, of course.

Little Bastard

April 6, 2012October 3, 2020Leave a comment

Oh, there you are you little bastard! Caught this gopher in the act of digging another hole in my front yard:

Quick, somebody call Bill Murray, I mean… Carl the Groundskeeper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR0sWU1HzTE

More Bobcat

January 27, 2012October 3, 2020Leave a comment

Pan and Hera are my little wildlife spotters. I’ve got to go look whenever I see something has their attention. A couple of weeks after the previous bobcat visit, I notice Pan intensely watching something from the porch.

It’s another bobcat! Cool!

It’s clearly a different one from given the different markings along its side. And smaller too:

Bobcat in the Yard

January 11, 2012October 3, 2020Leave a comment

… that is, until a buck drove him off. No, really!

I was just letting Hera and Pan out when I see…. oh, a bobcat. Huh. No guys, back inside. No, I mean it. Hey, Hera… come back here — no, I don’t think he would be a good friend for you…

And then I see the young buck. Huh. The buck is facing the bobcat down, making him back away. And he continues to drive him off and down the dirt road, out of sight.

Sorry Pan, sorry Hera, gotta go and you’re staying inside today!

Yeah, yeah… the fence/cat enclosure around the porch is due to go up in a few weeks. Hey, good thing I’ve got guard deer though in the meantime, eh?

crimdom.net

Tag: wildlife-in-the-yard