Colorado Nature Narratives

A scrabbling sound was the first indication of unusual activity in our backyard. I rushed to the window just in time to see the blurred motion of a red fox jumping up our fence, then turning 180 degrees to jump down and run in the opposite direction. Almost within reach of the fox’s tail were two bobcats! They pursued the fox for about 50 feet, and then abruptly stopped when the fox jumped out of our yard. Then the bobcats leisurely stretched out on the grass, yawned and were joined by a third bobcat. The fox was lucky that the bobcats gave up the chase, at least for today.

Bobcats lounging

The bobcats relaxed in the sunny part of our yard for about two hours, then roused themselves to drink from our backyard pond and to play in our pond’s filter tank. They looked liked overgrown housecats as they tussled in the tank. Then, one of the bobcats began scratching on an aspen tree, stretching upward 34 inches (I measured the next day), and dragging its claws down the soft bark. According to Timothy Mallow in his article Bobcat Ecology, “the vertical scratches made by the bobcat’s claws leave a visual marker and also leave a scent on the tree that originates from sweat glands in bobcat’s paws. Bobcats maintain and defend their ranges with the use of territorial markers, such as tree scratches. The home range of a female bobcat averages 2900 acres.” That is more than twice as large as Garden of the Gods Park (1367 acres).

Bobcat drinking from backyard pond

Bobcat scratching aspen tree

Bobcats playing in filter tank

The backyard bobcat drama lasted all day. By mid-afternoon, I noticed a fox squirrel at the tiptop of an aspen tree, anxiously flicking its tail and chattering. Half way up the same tree was one of the bobcats! When the squirrel jumped into the top of an adjacent aspen, the bobcat slowly backed down the tree trunk, then turned and jumped to the ground. I thought the hunt was over. But no, the bobcat looked up, located the squirrel and proceeded to climb the second tree. Then I observed that a second bobcat was patrolling the top of our back fence, near the squirrel’s tree.

At this point, I guessed that the squirrel would outlast the bobcats in patience and would remain at the very top of the tree until the bobcats left the neighborhood. I decided to check back in 5 minutes, but by then, I had missed the action. There was the bobcat strolling through the backyard with the lifeless squirrel in its mouth.

As the successful predator settled down to eat its prey, the other two bobcats watched neighborhood birds from the vantage point of our deck and took another nap. The three bobcats finally left our backyard in the late afternoon.

Bobcat sitting on our deck

The bobcats are probably three of the four kittens that were born in our neighbor’s yard last spring. Although the mother bobcat and her four kittens left their den in early July, neighbors occasionally saw one or more of the bobcats during the fall. Just last week, in mid-January, one neighbor saw all five bobcats – presumably the mother and the almost-grown kittens – parade across her deck in single file following the lead bobcat that held a dead squirrel in its mouth. The bobcats will soon deplete the easy prey in our neighborhood and move on to another part of their home range. Sometime between now and May, when the kittens are almost a year old, the mother will “evict her kittens from her home range.” Until then, we fortunate neighbors may glimpse the “wild kingdom” in our own Westside Colorado Springs neighborhoods.

2 young bobcats nuzzle, creating a mirror image

Bobcat jumping off our deck

Photo Credits: All photos were taken by author Melissa Walker.

Ten months ago in one of my first blogs, I used a quote from my favorite nature writer Ann Zwinger. The year 2010 marked the 40th anniversary of her classic natural history book, Beyond the Aspen Grove, still my favorite. I chose my nature blog’s tagline “always something new to discover” from Ann’s words:

Beginning to know these mountain acres has been to discover a puzzle with a million pieces already set out on a table. Occasionally a few pieces fit together and we gain another awareness of the land’s total pattern of existence, of its intricate interdependencies, enhanced by knowing that the puzzle will never be completed. There will always be something new to discover… (From Chapter 1, Beyond the Aspen Grove)

As I write today, a snowstorm has settled over Colorado Springs and every shape outside my window is now etched in white. With 2010 drawing to a close, I am reflecting on the turning seasons of this year and thought I’d share a few of my favorite Colorado discoveries with you, with homage to Ann Zwinger.

Sandhill Cranes and Sunset, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, late winter

Northern Flicker, late winter

Bobcat with two of her four kittens, late spring

Alpine Tundra Wildflowers: Alpine Forget-Me-Nots and Dwarf Clover on the west slope of Pikes Peak, mid-summer

Golden aspen leaves paint the mountainsides in autumn

Snow-covered Backyard with pond, aspen trees and tall stalks of teasel, early winter

Happy New Year!

Photo Credits: Cranes, Bobcats, Wildflowers, Aspen and Pond by Melissa Walker; Flicker by Les Goss

To see the moon begin to “disappear” at the exact time forecast is exhilarating. It is 11:33 p.m. (MST), December 20, 2010.  Now, it’s 12:06 a.m. and the Earth has cast its shadow over almost half the moon. The shaded lunar surface faintly glows dark, dark red.

In the southern sky, just below the eclipsed moon, is the constellation of Orion. Looking through my binoculars, I observe that Orion’s bright star Betelgeuse, a red giant, is very similar in color to the eclipsed moon.

Partial Lunar Eclipse

It is now 12:51 a.m. and the moon has been totally in Earth’s shadow for 10 minutes. Without its bright white reflected light, the moon looks like the 3-dimensional sphere it actually is, instead of a 2-dimensional circle. It also looks smaller, yet heavier. It looks as if its weight will cause it to fall from the sky, something I’ve never imagined before. The sky has darkened and many stars appear that were invisible in the bright light of the full moon. I see the Seven Sisters and the Twins.

It is a perfect night to view the eclipse from Colorado Springs. Lucky us.

Total Lunar Eclipse by Les Goss

Photo Credit: Thanks to Les Goss, my husband, for both eclipse photos.

Late in the afternoon on September 10, volunteers and friends met in Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs to observe the White-throated Swifts and their sunset flight behavior. The fast-flying birds are one of the reasons that the Garden of the Gods is a National Natural Landmark, as the Park is one of the largest summer and migratory roosting sites for the White-throated Swifts along the Rocky Mountain Front Range.

When our group gathered on the west side of North Gateway Rock, the Swifts were flying so high overhead that they were difficult to see without binoculars. Then, as the sun sank lower toward the horizon, the Swifts lowered their circular flight pattern over the Park’s Central Garden area. We could hear the birds twittering as they flew in wide circles near their roosting sites. Then, as the sun dipped behind Pikes Peak, the Swifts began to funnel into a long crack on the west side of the Tower of Babel in North Gateway Rock, their primary roosting site. It took about ten minutes for the Swifts to disappear into the large rock crevice and smaller roosting sites nearby.

Swifts flying at sunset, Garden of the Gods

In 2009, I observed that the Swifts migrated on September 23, just before a cold front brought snow to the foothills. This year, Lenore Fleck watched for the Swifts’ departure. On September 25, 2010, she wrote, “No change in weather, still warm and dry. Yesterday, the Swifts were circling at six-o’clock. Today, silent skies.”

The Swifts migrated to the southwest border of the United States and farther south into Mexico where they will find abundant flying insects to sustain them through the winter. At the Garden of the Gods, we will be watching for the Swifts to return in early April as they complete another full circle of their annual migration journey.

Swift Rescued

This fall, Haleigh Shafer, Garden of the Gods Park Intern, rescued a White-throated Swift that she found lying in the Visitor Center parking lot. Before the bird was transported to a wildlife rehabilitation center, Haleigh took several photos. In this photo, note how the bird’s folded wings are longer than its tail. The Swift’s wingspan is 15 inches and its body is only 6.5 inches. The photo shows how small a Swift really is, about the size of a cell phone, yet it migrates hundreds of miles every fall and spring.

Swift rests next to cell phone

Photo Credits:
Swifts flying next to North Gateway Rock by Dave Meyers.
Swift resting next to cell phone by Haleigh Shafer.

Morning rays of sunlight filter through our backyard aspen trees and the woodbine vine that decorates my window. The backlit red and gold leaves of the woodbine transform the window into stained glass. The woodbine (also called Virginia creeper) is at the peak of its autumn glory.

Autumn Window View

The brilliant fall colors lure me outside for a short walk. The air is brisk and I zip up my jacket. Almost everywhere I look, garlands of red woodbine encircle the trees and shrubs of the neighborhood.

During this year’s warm summer, the sun-seeking woodbine vine used our house as a trellis and quickly grew toward the light. The vine’s tendrils attached to vertical walls and window glass and soon the east side of our house looked like an arbor, covered with green leaves and tiny green berries. One afternoon I discovered a tenacious vine that had crept toward the south side of the house and had clasped our windchime with its tendrils. I quickly released the “captured” chime.

Red Garlands of Woodbine

Although woodbine isn’t native to Colorado, it has adapted well to the forested and irrigated urban landscapes of the Front Range. Many native birds now use woodbine for food and shelter. Robins build nests in the vine’s leafy bower and Northern Flicker woodpeckers devour the ripe blue berries.

Returning home from my autumn walk with the day now warming up, I open the vine-covered window. I hear the staccato drums of the Coronado High School Marching Band practicing on the football field about a half-mile away. Now my window sounds like autumn, too.

Ripe blue berries

Photo Credits: All three photos by Melissa Walker

Frequent readers of my blog may be wondering what happened to the mother bobcat and her kittens that I wrote about earlier this summer. Our westside Colorado Springs neighborhood proved to be a good wildlife habitat for the bobcat family.

The mother bobcat successfully raised all 4 of her kittens in our neighbor’s (the Bracketts) backyard until the kittens were ready to move to a new territory. The kittens practiced climbing trees, and as they got older, climbed the Bracketts’ backyard fence to follow their mother, probably to learn how to hunt squirrels and rabbits. On hot days, the kittens stayed in their den until early evening. All of our neighbors were alerted about the bobcat family, and there were no negative encounters between “our” wildcat and pets or people. Soon after the first week of July, the mother bobcat and her kittens left “the nursery” and haven’t been seen since. I still miss them. Many of my neighbors also observed the mother bobcat during her 10-week stay in our neighborhood and we were all fascinated by this glimpse of one of Colorado’s most beautiful species of wildlife.

Mother Bobcat in early July

To read earlier posts about the bobcats, click on the “Bobcat” category.

Photo credit: Les Goss

On June 1, Laura Brackett, my neighbor across the street, called with exciting news. “The bobcat is in my backyard and has 4 kittens!” So, the bobcat that has been ranging in our westside Colorado Springs neighborhood since April 22 is definitely a female and has found adequate food, water and shelter to make this her temporary home. The bobcat has hidden her den and kittens underneath thick juniper bushes in the Brackett’s backyard.

During the past week, Laura and I have tried to photograph the growing family without disturbing the mother bobcat. We quietly observe and photograph from the Brackett’s second-floor deck. We think that the kittens are about five weeks old and were kept hidden the first few weeks.

Laura and her husband Dave observe the bobcat family in the morning and early evening when the mother nurses her kittens next to their juniper-sheltered den. Watching with binoculars, Laura and Dave report that the mother bobcat is successful in finding prey for her kittens. In addition to a fox squirrel, the Bracketts have also seen the remains of both a red fox and a skunk.

On June 9, the mother bobcat nursed her kittens closer to the house and Laura captured some great images. My thanks to Laura Brackett for providing the following photos that record part of the mother bobcat’s daily life.

Bobcat Kittens in constant motion.

Bobcat nursing her kittens

Bobcat Kitten after nursing

Kitten plays in leaves

Mother bobcat & curious kittens

Almost finished nursing

Morning feeding completed

FYI: The white object visible in some of the photos is part of the drip sprinkler system. For more information and photos about our neighborhood bobcat, please visit my April and May Colorado Nature Narratives Blog postings.

It has been one week since our last sighting of “the backyard bobcat.” On that day, May 17, the bobcat surprised us at 7:00 p.m. Right after dinner, my son exclaimed, “It’s the bobcat!”

The bobcat was sitting down with its back to us, about 15 feet from the sliding glass door to our sideyard. While my husband Les Goss rushed for the camera, my son and I noted how similar the wildcat looked to a really big house cat. We also noticed the prominent black and white markings on the back of its ears. The bobcat’s triangle-shaped ears are tipped in black with a white rectangle shape at the base of each ear. The bobcat then began to move, and for several minutes was out of sight on the other side of our deck.

Then it jumped up onto our fence.

And looked into the neighbor's yard.

It marked territory in 3 locations in the neighbor's yard and covered up its scat.

Then the bobcat leaped back up our 5.5' fence.

And back down into our yard.

It didn't take much foliage for the bobcat to begin to disappear. Its protective coloration definitely works.

We have seen the bobcat 8 times in the last 5 weeks:
April 16 at 4 p.m.
April 18 at 6 p.m.
May 8 at 2 p.m.
May 9 at 9 a.m.
May 10 at 9:30 a.m.
May 12 at 10:30 a.m.
May 13 at 9:00 a.m.
May 17 at 7:00 p.m.

Perhaps the bobcat ranged through our yard on other days but we didn’t look out the window at just the right time to see him.

So when will the bobcat reappear in our backyard? That is the question.

For more information about bobcats in general and this particular Colorado Springs bobcat, please visit my two previous posts dated April 22 and May 12. Les Goss, my husband, took all the bobcat photos. Thanks, Les!

It is 4:30 in the morning and the strong voices of the American Robins are already carrying the melody of a new spring day. The nearest birdsong seems amplified as if the Robin is singing into a microphone while dozens of other Robins blend their harmonies throughout the neighborhood.

At 4:50, a Spotted Towhee adds its three-note trills. Two more Towhees awake and sing at 5:10. The pre-dawn sky is beginning to lighten. I hear a train’s long, sorrowful whistle in the far distance. As if prompted by the train, a Mourning Dove begins cooing at 5:16, immediately echoed by another Dove. At 5:22, a Chickadee contributes its “dee-dee-dee” and a Crow its “caw-caw-caw.” By 5:30, the beginning movement of the Dawn Chorus is concluding as the Robins yield Nature’s sound stage to the House Finches and Towhees. It is barely light.

Pre-dawn Sky

After seeing a bobcat in our backyard, the next morning I watched the aspen grove outside our window, hoping to see the elusive cat again. Clouds obscured the sun and blustery winds still held winter’s chill. Our rain gauge measured a quarter-inch of rain from overnight showers. Observing the backyard from the comfort of my house was a luxury. At midday, my vigilance was rewarded – but not with a bobcat. Instead, a Great Blue Heron graced our landscape.

Great Blue Heron in backyard pond

Standing knee-deep at the edge of the pond, the regal bird cautiously surveyed its surroundings but never seemed secure enough to strike at one of the fish. At times when the heron was motionless, it seemed to disappear behind the dried flower stalks. After a few minutes, the stately visitor gathered up its wings and flew away.

Fortunately, the heron stayed long enough for my husband Les Goss to capture it on video. To watch a two-minute video of “our” heron surveying the area, then flying away, visit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCUzLDAYFHQ.

Heron wading in backyard pond

According to Ken Pals, park naturalist at Fountain Creek Nature Center, there are at least four heron rookeries in El Paso County, Colorado. The closest rookery (collection of nests) to our backyard pond is located six miles away. The nests are in tall cottonwood trees along Fountain Creek, near the intersection of Interstate 25 and South Nevada Avenue. The herons must not be too bothered by the traffic as they have successfully nested near the Interstate for several years. They usually return to the same trees every spring. Perhaps the heron will return to our backyard pond this spring or summer for a more successful “fishing trip.”
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