Tag: coyote

Coyote

A Coyote “Mousing” at Point Reyes National Seashore

I never get bored watching wildlife.  One f the things I always enjoy is seeing a coyote perform the “mousing” leap to try to catch a rodent.  Here are some photos I took in June of a coyote at Point Reyes doing that.

A coyote spots a rodent.

Coyote, Point Reyes

The coyote begins its jump.

Coyote, Point Reyes National Seashore

It hits the apex of its jump.

Coyote, Point Reyes

Descending snout first.

coyote, mousing

Did the coyote get its rodent?

No, it missed.  However, in my experience coyotes are more successful at catching rodents than bobcats.  I’ve wondered why and whether it’s because they grab rodents with their pointed snouts which fit in rodent holes nicely.  Bobcats have flatter faces and have to use their paws which may not fit in the small rodent burrows as well.  I don’t know for sure, it’s just a guess.

Blacktail Deer

Blacktail Deer, Point Reyes

blacktail deer point reyes national seashore

Blacktail Buck at Sundown

I was out at Point Reyes recently.  Thistle and other vegetation that I’ll call “weeds” are growing tall, making it harder to spot bobcats.  I only saw one and he wasn’t having any of me.   I shot some video of a coyote who was in a field that had just been mowed to get rid of thistle and other weeds (not silage mowing), but the midday sun was harsh.  As the day was nearing its end I decided to go to the elk enclosure at Pierce Point.  I was there a bit photographing cow elk and yearlings in nice light.  After a while the light was fading and I decided to head home.  Shortly after leaving the elk enclosure I saw this blacktail buck.  He was bleeding a bit on the upper inside of his left foreleg.  I don’t know what that was from.

The sun was disappearing fast when I took this photo and I had to shoot at a much higher ISO than I like, but when I have a nice subject I just keep shooting and worry about the noise in the image later.

Black-tailed Deer

Blacktail Doe and Fawns, Point Reyes National Seashore

Look for fawns throughout the Seashore.
It’s Fawn Time!

Now is a great time to be at Point Reyes.  There are lots of elk calves to see and some deer fawns as well.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I think the heavy winter rains helped increase elk births. I think the same can be said for deer and most other critters.

One thing that I am always amazed at is how fast people drive in the Seashore as they rush to get to some particular location to start enjoying nature.  If they would slow down and scan the fields they would see all kinds of nature’s creations, such as coyotes, bobcats, badgers, elk, deer etc.  Plus, less wildlife would be killed by vehicles.   As Glenn Frey used to sing, “take it easy.”

Coyote

Song Dogs; Point Reyes National Seashore

A pair of coyotes sing a song understood only by coyotes.
Song Dog Serenade

Hearing a howl or two from coyotes is usually all you get.  But in this case I was treated to several minutes of singing.  Hearing coyotes howl is one of the best sounds in nature.   Other favorites of mine include the calls of wolves; the bugling of bull elk during the rut; the call of a loon on a lake; and the honking of Canada geese as they fly in formation  overhead.

Badger, Bobcat, Coyote

My Record Day for Coyotes and Bobcats at Point Reyes National Seashore, Plus a Badger

I was at Point Reyes National Seashore yesterday from about noon to dark and saw ten coyotes and eight bobcats.  That was a record day (and half day) for me for both critters.  Plus, I started the afternoon with a badger taking a sunbath.  Here’s a photo of the badger.  Light was harsh and the badger was mostly napping, so I didn’t stay long to wait for a better photo.

Badger, Point Reyes National Seashore

As I said, I saw eight bobcats.  One was walking toward a coyote, unbeknownst to both of them. They were walking toward each other at right angles.  When they finally saw each other, the coyote gave chase and the bobcat made it to some trees and scrub brush.  Here’s another bobcat at about sundown.  Better light than the badger.

Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

Here’s a coyote from earlier in the day.  It has a lighter coat than average.  My coyote count went up very quickly at the end of the day.  Right after coyote #6 chased the bobcat, a pack of four coyotes came by when I was in the same location.  I had heard them howling shortly before I saw them.   It’s the first time I saw more than three coyotes together at Point Reyes.

Coyote, Point Reyes National Seashore

I kind of wish I had gotten there at or before sunrise.  I might have added a few more coyotes and bobcats to the day and to my personal record.

Bobcat

Injured Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a bobcat with some lost fur.
Bobcat Has Lost Some Fur

I photographed this bobcat on May 2.  I saw that it had lost all its fur in one spot on its back.  It was like something with a straight edge to it had come down on the cat’s back and either moved rearward or the cat moved forward to cause a straight line of fur at the forward edge to release. As the object moved rearward the pressure lessened and less and less fur was removed until about 6 inches from the beginning the pressure was fully released.  As I photographed it I could see it was limping.  Something was wrong with its right hind leg.

Photo of bobcat that limped as it walked and had some fur missing on right hind leg.
Bobcat Limped As it Walked and is Missing a Strip of Fur on Its Right Hind Leg.

If you look closely you can see there is fur missing on the rear of the right hind leg midway between the heel and the letter “R” in the word “Rights.”  This area also looks like something pressed down on the fur and scraped it backward or forward and removed a couple of inches of it.

This got me to thinking what the cause could be.  I came up with three possibilities. First, the bobcat could have been hit by a vehicle.  However, I can’t envision how a vehicle could remove the fur in those two areas, let alone not do any other damage.  Second, the bobcat could have been in a fight with another animal such as a bobcat or coyote.  Again, I can’t envision how a bobcat or coyote could cause these fur removals that begin with a straight edge to them and then move rearward on the back and downward (or possibly upward) on the hind leg.  Claws and canine teeth wouldn’t do that.  Third, the bobcat could have gotten caught in a barbed wire fence and lost the fur in its struggle to escape.  I can envision the cat getting caught between two wires, especially if one or two wires had gotten somewhat loose as sometimes happens and, with one or two wires pressing down on its back and rear leg, the wires could have caused fur to be pulled from the bobcat in the process of the bobcat pulling free.  While I don’t know for sure what happened, that seems to me to be the most likely cause.  Hopefully, the bobcat is no longer limping.

 

Badger, Bobcat, Coyote, Other Bird

A Day at Point Reyes National Seashore

I was out at Point Reyes two days ago.  It was a very good day.  I saw and photographed multiple bobcats and coyotes.

Photo of a bobcat stalking its prey.
Bobcat Stalking Prey

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.

Photo of a coyote at Point Reyes.
Coyote, Point Reyes National Seashore

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.

Photo of a peregrine falcon on a post.
Scanning the Area

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.

Photo of a badger at Point Reyes.
Badger Wakes Up from Siesta

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.