Village Creek Drying Beds Bobcat

After a couple of hours at the Village Creek Drying Beds on Monday I decided I'd had enough. Conditions were fairly chilly, and my 400mm lens had proven inadequate in reaching the waterfowl who insisted on staying a good distance away from me. Meeting Randy Crisp had already made the visit a good one, so I bid him farewell and headed back to the car.

That's when things got interesting.

I saw something walking ahead of me on the access road between ponds.  It was too far off for me to positively identify it.  Seemed to small for a dog or a coyote, but too big for a cat.

It veered off the trail towards a pond.  I picked up my pace to come alongside it and try to get a better look.  Definitely some sort of cat.  Wait -- are those black tufts on the ears?

It noticed me for the first time and hunkered down in the grass.  I moved into position to see its face, if it ever bothered to emerge ...

... which it eventually did, apparently deciding I was neither predator nor prey.  My first wild bobcat!

She was kind enough to give me a pose looking to the right, just in case the one of her looking to the left didn't work.
 

The bobcat didn't seem to be actively hunting.  Which is probably a good thing, because I was far from stealthy in my bright blue windbreaker and would likely have scared off any potential meals.

She headed back down the road in the direction from which we'd both come, and I decided to continue to tail her as long as she didn't seem to be actively trying to get away.  She turned down a game path between two ponds and settled down in the warm sun, sending a pretty clear message that I wasn't disturbing her.

Nope.  Not especially disturbed.

A grooming session?  OK, I'm at least a little more threatening than that, aren't I?

I half expected her to doze off and take a nap next, as relaxed as she seemed to be.

Abruptly she seemed to change her mind, hopping up and hastening down the trail at a faster pace.  That seemed to be my cue that the show was over and my continued presence was no longer invited.  So I took the hint and let her disappear into the undergrowth.

What an amazing treat!  First armadillo, now bobcat.  I can't wait to see which of its nature secrets Texas will divulge next!