The Bobcat and the Bird

Sometime last year, I ran into a wildlife biologist on one of my hikes.  I peppered him with lots of questions about bobcats.  One of the interesting things he told me was that bobcats are good birders.  Interesting.  I had only seen bobcats catch gophers and knew they also liked rabbits and even deer on occasion.

Recently, though, I watched a bobcat catch and eat two songbirds.  I watched this cat pounce into tall grass and emerge with a catch.  As I was taking photos, I noticed feathers hanging out of the cat's mouth.  Feathers!








The bobcat enjoyed this meal for a while before setting off back down the trail.




A short while later, the cat pounced into the grass again.




This pounce was quite high and soft.  The cat almost seemed to float in the air.  I still need to work on my technique for pounce shots, but I thought this shot was fun, with just the bobcat's face in the corner.




I was not able to get any shots of the bobcat eating the second bird it caught, as he enjoyed his meal in the deep grass.  But I was able to watch him eat the bird with my binoculars.  And this sparrow also kept a close eye on the action.