Quabbin Bobcats

Well, I had every intention of heading out for a Quabbin hike this morning. Figured with the wet snow it would make for an excellent day looking for bobcat tracks.  That was the plan until I went out to get the morning paper. The crust on the snow put a damper on that idea.

In the many miles hiked in Quabbin the opportunity for pushing the shutter with a bobcat in the view finder has been far and few

Thinking back over the last several years  while hiking ,there have been four encounters seeing five bobcats.  Two of the sightings where barely a glimpse, with the other two presenting photo opportunities. I call these “Evidence Shots”. The pictures at minimum validate your wildlife experience.

The photo above was taken in June 2013. It was  somewhat distant but provided an unforgettable wildlife experience.

The above picture is an evidence shot showing two bobcats together,

I was able to keep the curiosity of one of the cats for a few minutes.

Hopefully one day the opportunity will present itself with being in the right place at the right time to capture a Quabbin bobcat up close.

I would be interested in any of your Quabbin bobcat experiences.

Jim

Calmn Before The Storm

My hike today took me to a Southeast gate seen above.Woods where very quiet this morning.
No photo opportunities , so I decided to walk the shoreline in hopes of seeing an eagle.

I did find this turtle shell that appears to have fallen victim to an eagle, This is the third shell that I have found in the same general area.

Jim

Beautiful Morning Hiking

This morning’s hike took me along the Northwest shoreline. Although the reservoir is 90+ percent to its capacity, there was enough shoreline to walk with minimal bushwhacking required.

No eagles where seen however several flocks of common mergansers provided a quick shot.

Surprised the eagles have not located this coyote lodged in the thin ice.

 Jim

Snap In The Air This Morning !

I passed the NE Quabbin Gate at dawn with the thermometer registering 12 degrees. No problem with picking up the  pace to get the blood going.
Anticipation was high on such a cold morning to see wildlife. Other than a nice Tom  Turkeynpassing in front of me it was a very quiet morning.

Common winter birds and several squirrels were  seen .

The shallow coves where all iced over. With the cold temperatures coming over the next few days, should pretty much start icing much of the reservoir.
Jim

Awesome Experience !

Hit the trail real early this morning. Available light walking into this situation was poor at best.

'

That's the risk  I take with early starts. I would much rather have a " Noisy Picture "with a wildlife encounter than no picture at all. I was able to keep the " Curiosity " of one bobcat for a couple of minutes.

 The bobcat turned and looked  at me before disappearing

Jim

Plenty Of Water !

This mornings hike took me out to Grave's Landing. Other than  seeing three otters swimming in the distance, the only consistent thing was water  everywhere. All the small streams where flowing pretty good.  My anticipation for seeing a variety of critters was high. Unfortunately not  today.

The reservoir has no ice on it. That is Soapstone Hill in the background


Jim

Been Fairly Quite !

Not much wildlife moving in my view the last couple of days. The red squirrel on the title page felt bad for me and posed for a pic.
Coyote tracks clearly dominated the roads and trails I hiked. The view from Rattlesnake Hill was clear . The reservoir is still open.

Jim