kestrel's Favorites

First record of this species in Arlington County since 1977. Adult female found under a log in an upland area dominated by mountain laurel, similar to the habitat I’ve found this species in elsewhere in northern Virginia. This was in a park that has been extensively surveyed, yet there aren’t even any historical records of this species from this park. Absolutely amazing to find this species somewhere it has gone undetected for all this time.

Bobcat keeping proper social distancing from his kill. He neatly covered half his breakfast, although there weren't enough leaves to cover the legs.

We followed his progress from 11AM till the time he left at 5PM, after he ate most of what he had buried, only leaving behind a bit of the carcass and plenty of fur for my next door neighbour to clean up.

As seen in the last pic this was a superb learning experience for the kids, aged 3 to 10. Who said kids aren't getting enough education from staying away from school during this pandemic? They learned plenty on how the food chain works, although my 3 year old girl had some difficulty with the graphic experience. But she never got upset, despite her love for chasing after bunnies.

There are plenty of bobcat sightings in this part of town, being this close to Fish Creek provincial park. My security system often catches them walking through my yard.

I stood behind the fence for some of these shots, no more than 2.5 metres away from where he rested and he never got upset, despite the small crowd that formed to catch sight of him. Not once did he show signs of aggression, despite the shot my wife took of him with his fangs out (he was caught yawning).
We are only 60 metres from busy Canyon Meadows Drive.

A lovely, healthy-looking adult bobcat and what seems to be a large jackrabbit. What a great experience for everyone that caught a glimpse of wild nature today taking place in our backyards.