Bobcat!

A pleasant winter day with less than a foot of snow on the ground and about eight inches of ice on the lake. Just cold enough to keep the snow light and fluffy a make following tracks interesting. Argy and I went for a hike on Fernalds Neck in Camden. Most of the land in the center of Megunticook Lake is part of that preserve. When guiding fishing trips on that lake I spend a lot of time looking those shores.

We walked down to Balance Rock (a huge glacial erratic that looks like it could topple over at any minute) and out onto the ice. Soon after we got on the ice we crossed a track that at first glance I thought was a dog. After following it for a ways and looking carefully at the print it was clearly a bobcat and a big one at that. Bold for a cat the track walked a considerable distance out on the ice out in the open although I suppose a cat of that size has little to fear even out in the open. Just about the time I was doubting my track identification the track cut into the brush along the shore and began hunting carefully like you would expect from a bobcat.

Clearly on of the possible sightings while guiding this summer is a bobcat!