Last week I was going for my daily constitutional (I try to go for at least one walk a day, even if it’s miserable weather), and I had what I would refer to as a “significant wildlife sighting.” I was actually speaking on the phone with my sister at the time, and saw movement far off down the road. I hadn’t brought binoculars with me (my first mistake!!) but I used the zoom option on my phone to get a better look. I had initially assumed it was a coyote. Then I got a better look at the silhouette.
I quickly realized that it was a lynx, told my sister I’d have to call her back, hung up without listening to her answer, and settled in to watch. This photo is extremely zoomed in and was taken with my cell phone. I really didn’t want to bother it so I didn’t walk more than 20 or so feet forward – it was several blocks down. I took a few photos every so often, as well as some video clips (though because of how much it’s zoomed in the video is distractingly shaky).
Soon, two more lynx emerged and my hands were shaking for a different reason – because I was so thrilled to see them.
I was particularly excited to see these lynx because of an absolutely epic encounter I’d had with one not too far way from this spot, that I hadn’t been able to capture on film. I’d been cross-country skiing on the trail through Beaver Glen campground, just up the road, and as I came up on the campground kiosk, a snowshoe hare ran in front of me and hit a “do not enter” sign attached to an open vehicle gate. It fell over. I was horrified. I felt I’d distracted this hare as it had been running and it had been inadvertently been stunned or killed as a result. But I had only a few seconds to take in what had happened when a lynx burst up from the direction the hare had come from. It lunged for the hare, placing one paw on it, and then stared me right in the eye for what felt like several seconds, and then it dragged the hare backwards into the woods. The whole encounter lasted about 30 seconds. I’d actually had ample time to take out my phone. I thought I’d gotten a video clip of it. Alas, my fingers had been too cold and I hadn’t actually pressed the “record” button like I thought. I regret it to this day.
So seeing three whole lynx, and being able to observe them for five minutes or more, even from a distance? Absolutely thrilling. They eventually jogged up onto the snowdrift on the side of the road, stared at me, and eventually retreated back the way they came. I called my sister back and I’d taken so long she thought I’d gotten et, in her words. I had to reassure her that lynx were quite small – I’d only be worried about getting eaten if I was a snowshoe hare.
Too Many Sparrows 