Mother bobcat and kittens in tall grass at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, the kittens partly hidden

Mother Bobcat and Her Kittens at Sequoyah

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It was 43 degrees when I arrived at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge on Thursday morning, November 12, and the sky was clear. Sunrise came at 6:52. Soon after, a bobcat ran in the road ahead of me and went straight into the brush. I never got the camera on it.

Deer In The Thick Stuff

One doe stood in thick brush and let me take her photo. Only her head and neck showed above the weeds.

White-tailed doe's head and neck above thick brush at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, looking at the camera
A doe in the thick brush along the tour road.

The young spike buck from my Monday trip was in the same area again. On November 9, that same buck walked right up to my truck. Several more bucks moved along the auto tour road, but every one of them stayed in the thick stuff, so I got no photos of those.

But one buck did cross in the open. He came to the edge of the road in front of my truck, and I got out before he stepped onto the gravel so I could get the photo.

White-tailed buck crossing a gravel road in profile at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge
This buck crossed the road in front of my truck.

The Mother Bobcat and Kittens

The best part of the morning came by phone. Mia McPherson had found a mother bobcat and her three kittens, and she called and told me where they were. So I drove to her spot. The light and the distance made the photography difficult.

Mother bobcat and kittens in tall grass at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, the kittens partly hidden
The mother bobcat in the tall grass, her kittens low around her.

The mother stood in the tall grass and looked my way. Her kittens stayed low in the grass around her, half hidden. Then she walked toward me through the grass, and the kittens held back behind her.

Mother bobcat walking through tall grass toward the camera, two kittens behind her at Sequoyah
The mother walked toward me through the grass, with the kittens behind her.

Two of the kittens showed in the grass in one photo. The third one stayed out of sight.

Two bobcat kittens in tall grass at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, one facing the camera.
Two of the kittens in the grass.

Bobcat kittens are born in the spring, and they stay with their mother through their first winter. By November they’re about half grown, traveling with her and learning to hunt.

Chances like that don’t come often, and I owe this one to Mia. It wasn’t my first bobcat family at Sequoyah. Back in August 2021, I photographed a Bobcat Checking Road Before Kitten Crosses on this same refuge.

A Roadrunner And A Harrier Before I Left

A roadrunner stood at the edge of a field near the auto tour road, head up in the grass.

Greater Roadrunner standing in grass at the edge of a field at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge
A roadrunner at the edge of a field near the tour road.

In a cut field, a Northern Harrier sat on the ground and looked back over its shoulder.

Northern Harrier on the ground in a cut field at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, seen from behind
A Northern Harrier on the ground in a cut field.

The day was on its way to a high near 68, with a north-northwest wind. I didn’t stay for the warm part. I left the refuge at 10:10 AM with the bobcat family on my card. Mornings like that are why I keep going back.

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