I was out at Point Reyes two days ago. It was a very good day. I saw and photographed multiple bobcats and coyotes.
This bobcat was hunting gophers. Bobcats use their paws to catch gophers in their burrows. Their mouths are not designed to fit into the narrow space of a gopher burrow. Their paws are also fairly large in relation to the size of a gopher burrow. Based on my observations, I would say their batting average is fairly low.
Coyotes use their mouths to catch rodents in their burrows. They don’t have sharp, retractable claws and don’t seem disadvantaged in that regard. That long slender snout seems built for the task. Based on my observations, they have a much higher batting average than bobcats in catching rodents in the top of their burrows. This coyote was with its mate and another individual.
While I’m always happy to get the opportunity to photograph bobcats and coyotes, what made the day really special was seeing and photographing a peregrine falcon and a badger. I don’t get many opportunities to photograph either of them.
I don’t know if this is a female or an immature or both. Its markings were not as nice as the peregrine I posted here. However, I’m always happy to photograph a peregrine.
Badgers are very nocturnal so it’s always a treat to spot one. The recent rains have created damp, dark soil which stands out when a badger digs up areas where there are good populations of gophers. I also love the rich greens of the grasses at this time of year. Everything has been brown this winter until we got some decent rains in the past few weeks. For those that don’t know, California is suffering from the worst drought in history.
