Spotting wildlife along our beaches always feels extra special, and I’ve had some great moments. As you know, I love to share stories, so here’s one.
I had my family on a weekend jaunt up the coast in Cambria, and we stayed right at the beach. I woke up early at gray light, made a cup of coffee, and sat outside to watch the pretty dawn progress.
The gathering light made for a soft glow, and I could see the ocean was calm and flat, which got my fishing blood to stir.
Of course it doesn’t take much to stir my fishing blood, after all I have saltwater in my veins.
After that cup of coffee, I made plans to walk across to the beach and make some casts along the sandy shoreline and also around the rocks on a small point of land jutting into the sea.
The Cambria area can be a good place to fish the shoreline.
In my periphery vision, I noticed furtive movement and turned to look. My jaw dropped as I watched an adult bobcat moving stealthily through the bushes on the dunes just above the beach, and surprisingly near the boardwalk that offers folks a walk alongside the beach without excessive damage to the fragile ecology of the dunes.
Apparently the bobcat appreciated the lonely boardwalk, too, because it was moving along beside the wooden structure to help conceal its predatory purpose. I had to admire the critter’s wise use of any camouflage available.
The beautiful predator was only about 40 yards away from me. It would have been so easy to take a very clear picture, and the photographer in me knew that the soft morning light would have made a still picture or video spectacular.
Did I bring my phone outside with me while I had my cup of joe? The lack of a bobcat picture accompanying this story answers that question, to my (and your) dismay.
As I think about past adventures, and I live a life of adventure, I’ve enjoyed spotting wildlife along beaches all along the West Coast and out along the shorelines of our islands in the SoCal Bight.
I’m happy to share those moments too, so look forward to those stories in the future.