Bobcats

Over a year ago, I had a fantastic experience photographing wildlife at Point Reyes with renowned photographer Daniel Dietrich. The whole experience got me hooked on a new kind of photography, and I’ve been visiting Point Reyes for that reason at every opportunity since.

There have been many highlights in the past year, but nothing compared to finding a bobcat in the wild and watching her hunt. I’d been looking for another bobcat to photograph ever since and constantly failing. I had some spare time this week and dedicated a whole day to the search.

I arrived early in the morning and almost immediately spotted a bobcat walking down the hillside. When it sat in the grass, I thought I had the perfect opportunity to find some cover and get closer. Unfortunately, a deer stumbled upon the bobcat first and chased it away into the bushes. I lost sight of it and spent hours roaming the fields for another glimpse.

Late in the afternoon, I spotted another bobcat hunting on a hillside. Just as I got into position, a tractor came over the hill, and the bobcat ran away. I stayed on its tail and approached the hill from the other side. I had yet to find out where it could be, but it turned out to be closer than expected. Ten yards away, it lept up, and all I saw was two back legs springing into the bushes.

As evening arrived, I finally decided to wrap up and leave. As frustrating as the day had been, I was energized and excited by the experiences and happy to have spent a day outdoors ... and then I saw another bobcat. It was on the other side of a cattle coral, so I knew I could use that as a bluff and get close without scaring it. Eventually, I found a position lying in the grass where I could watch. The cat spotted me, of course, but I wasn’t bothering her, and she calmly let me watch her hunt for a while from a safe distance—a magical and lucky experience.