Bobcat on the Bar Ditch Trail

I have pet names for some of the features of our local Wounded Wetlands preserve. 

Places like the Fake Hammock, the Lantana Patch, the Maple Grove and The Peninsula will not be found on any map. It had been more than four years since I last explored an old farm road which I called the "Bar Ditch Trail" that crosses the wild area west of the Big Levee. 

The trail runs along beside the "borrow" or "bar" ditch that provided the rocks and gravel to raise it slightly higher than the surrounding land which is at the level of the historic Everglades. Unusually high water and overgrowth of exotic vegetation due to a lack of maintenance limited my ability to explore the trail. 

Then, Hurricane Irma dealt a crushing blow by felling many trees which completely blocked entry at the trail head. Only this past month, the tree trunks and branches were cleared away by none other than my nemeses, the Off-Road "Wreckreational" Vehicle crowd. They used chain saws to restore access, which returned to them an old way to wreak havoc in the area. 

My first walks along Bar Ditch Trail have provided me images of, among others...

Northern Cardinal:



Blue-headed Vireo:



Orange-crowned Warbler:

   

Northern Waterthrush:



A pair of Common Ground-Doves:



We follow the Big Levee trail for about 0.3 miles (~0.5 km)...



...to the Bar Ditch trail head:



Fog lifting at sunrise over the Bar Ditch Trail:



The trail runs directly to the west, so my shadow falls directly in front of me on the first day of Spring:



The bar ditch is on the right (north) of its namesake trail:



About 1/3 mile along the trail, a patch of cattails harbored a singing Marsh Wren which was heard but not seen:




Just beyond Cattail Patch I had a brief, but  exciting encounter with a Bobcat. It was very early and the rising sun was shining brightly behind me. I was photographing a Gray Catbird...  



...and detected motion in my peripheral field of vision. It was an adult female Bobcat running full tilt down the path, straight towards me! I swung my camera around and captured a burst of over 50 photos.







She was probably blinded by the sunlight and did not see me until she pulled up about 30 feet / 9 meters away:







Then, acting aloof and nonchalant, she slowly turned and walked away:

This slide show video includes the entire sequence of my encounter with the Bobcat:

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Linking to:

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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