Another Bobcat encounter

Our south Florida winter has been much more like summer these past few weeks. We walk out in the cool before sunrise but the temperature quickly rises as the sun climbs.

There is sometimes a touch of fog on the lake which quickly burns off:



On February 14 the clouds kept the heat away for a while:



In the rookery, the Green Herons are developing longer plumes and their legs are turning red, a sign that they will soon be breeding. The rookery is quite dark and deeply shaded, so my photos are soft:





During the past two weeks there had been as many as 8 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons in the rookery, but now, inexplicably I find only one:

 

The Blue Jays are active and loud:



Three male American Kestrels defend separate winter hunting territories along my route:



On February 19 I was photographing this lakeside Tricolored Heron...





... when a young lady rode up on her bike with a cute and friendly brown dog running alongside. We visited for a moment as I was photographing the heron. Then she biked away.

I continued down the path for a few minutes, when a Bobcat emerged from the high grass on the right side of the gravel road. I took this photo thinking the girl had already moved out of sight down the road:



At first the cat was intent on watching the girl and her dog. I cautiously moved nearer. The girl seemed to have dismounted in order to text or talk on the phone and was oblivious to the presence of the Bobcat, which then saw me:



The cat walked out into the middle of the road and appeared to be catching the scent of the dog:





The cat watched as the girl got back on her bike and headed away:





After the biker moved out of sight the cat turned her attention back on me. I think it is a female rather than the bulky male which I photographed earlier this winter in  January and  November:





Suddenly, she ran back into the high grass:



Although the Bobcat was nearly as large as the dog, it posed no threat to it or to humans. An alley cat or toy dog could be another matter. It probably emerged because it detected the unusual intrusion. Was it just curiosity? Might she have cubs? Several times I have had Bobcats peer out at me from behind as I walked down a trail. 

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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh

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