Lynx in the Neighborhood and Feathered Friends...

For the second time I have seen a lynx out in the daytime.
They are usually considered to be nocturnal with occasional daytime activities.

Canada Lynx

source

This time I didn't see just one lynx but I saw two, right in the middle of the road facing off!

As I approached them I thought they were dogs and I honked my horn to get them to move then I realized it was lynx so I pulled the car over quite close to them to observe.

Unfortunately the only camera I had on me was my cell phone camera which I had to fuss around getting my phone turned on (we don't have coverage in our area so I leave it turned off) and camera set up. By the time I was able to get my camera ready the lynx had moved to opposite sides of the road when another car had come up on the other side. Funny, although they both went to opposite sides of the road the one crossed over the road behind my car and popped into the bush just a little ways away from the first one so I'm sure they will be continuing their dispute at a later date.

I did manage to get a few pictures but not showing much detail (refer to the top image for more detail).

Lynx Walking Along Ditch

Lynx as it Crossed the Road

Lynx Heading to Bush

Lynx Running Off Into the Bush

By the way the big cats were acting I figured there must have been a female around and I did some checking around to see when the breeding season was - sure enough it is in late winter and we just had a mild spell which could have triggered the female.

I went to check out their paw prints in the snowy ditch and was surprised at how big they were - as big as my hand! I was also surprised that unlike me, they did not sink in the snow.

Lynx Paw Print as Big as My Hand

Lynx Paw Prints Going Off Into the Snow

From my research on Wikipedia I found out:

As climates get colder and more northerly, lynx have progressively thicker fur, lighter colour, and their paws are larger and more padded to adapt to the snow, covered in long and thick fur. Their paws may be larger than a human hand or foot. The broad paws provide good support on the soft snow.

The paws, broadened by the wide-spaced metatarsals, can spread as wide as 10 centimeters (3.9 in) and allow the lynx to move fast and with ease on the snow. The spoor is more distinct in hard snow than in mud, though the toes are not clearly visible in deep snow.

The Canada lynx is a medium-sized cat, similar in many ways to the bobcat. This lynx is between 80 and 100 centimeters (31 and 39 in) in head-and-body length, stands 48–56 centimeters (19–22 in) tall at the shoulder and weighs 5–18 kilograms (11–40 lb)

The Canada lynx feeds almost exclusively on snowshoe hares; its population is highly dependent on the population of this prey animal. It will also hunt medium-sized mammals and birds if hare numbers fall.

I had noticed the hare population was up in our area which would mean the lynx population would be up too. We live in the Boreal forest which is their main habit. It's good to see their population up for they are beautiful cat!

Meanwhile back in our yard we were greeted with a more common sight - the blue jays!

There can be 6 or 7 bluejays at our feeder at one time but I have yet to be able to capture them in a photo. Here is what I did catch...

Closeup Bluejay in the Pine Tree

Cute Closeup of Bluejay in the Pine Tree

Unlike the chickadees I can't get to close to the bluejays before they take off -

Bluejays Taking Flight From Bird Feeder

Created for the #amazingnature contest hosted by @adalger February 2020 - #02

Also a contribution to the #featheredfriends hosted by @melinda010100

Photos of lynx were taken with my Kyocera phone camera
Closeups of the bluejays in the pine tree were taken with my Canon PowerShot SX 60 HS
Other photos of bluejays were taken with my Canon PowerShot A 495

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