In 2025, we led one private Bobcats of California photo tour in early December, for just a couple of days. This was due to our guests time constraints, but even with that shorter amount of time, we had fantastic bobcat sightings. Read on for our Private Tour: Bobcats of California Photo Tour 2025 Trip Report.
Highlights of the 2025 Private Bobcat Photo Tour
Bobcats: For the duration of the two day trip, we saw five different individual bobcats. Sightings averaged twenty minutes, at an average distance of 25 meters. For our closest encounter the bobcat was just two meters away!
Detailed Trip Summary of our 2025 Private Bobcat Photo Tour
Day 1: We met our guests, who are dear friends, and their friends for a fantastic dinner where we got to catch up properly and discuss the details of the next two days on how things would go for their private bobcat trip.
Day 2: As usual, we headed out pre-sunrise to our bobcat search area. It didn’t take long for us to find out first cat, but we recognized the male, and this particular male is quite a shy one, so we told our guests, its not worth it pushing this cat away, we will look for another cat.
It took as another hour or so to find our next bobcat, but this was a female we knew well. She has her on and off days, sometimes happy to have us around, others weary of people. So we took our time and assessed her mood. She was hunting and seemed a little nervous, so we watched from a distance, giving her space and letting her get used to us. When you are with bobcats, as in any other cats, its not about rushing in for a photograph, its about reading behavior and responding accordingly.
With time, she relaxed more and more and we knew we could start approaching closer, still around 100 yards away. We moved slowly, deliberately, always reading her body language to see how she was feeling about us. She ended up settling on a hillside, vigorously grooming herself for the next thirty minutes. It still wasn’t the time to move closer, we had to be more patient. Luckily our guests trusted our experience. So eventually, she raised herself and with complete confidence walked right at us. We all sat there, enjoying the experience of a cat completely trusting us, while snapping photos of her. She passed by just a few feet away, and we were all extremely ecstatic!
In the afternoon, we spotted our third cat of the day, also hunting. We used the same approach methodology, taking our time, and letting the cat dictate the pace. This always leads to the best encounters, for both the cat, and us, as well as the best photographic opportunities!
Day 3: The morning was quiet, with a layer of mist covering the landscape. Due covered the grass and the main mammal we saw in the morning were coyotes trotting through the landscape. We never take seeing a bobcat for granted, and simply enjoyed the views we were granted by the coyotes.
The afternoon was more eventful. Our first bobcat we found too was quite skittish, so we left her be. It is never worth pushing the cats when they are hunting, because you are forcing them to retreat, abandon their hunt, and loose out on a meal they desperatly need.
Only twenty minutes later did we find our second bobcat for the afternoon, this one showing signs she was quite comfortable. We followed her on foot while she hunted. It’s always such a privilege observing these incredible cats go about their lives, searching for prey and showing off their hunting prowess.
As the sun crept lower to the horizon she gave us a few last looks, and successfully hunting a gopher in front of us. It was a magical ending to two bobcat filled days. Much shorter than usual, but we were so happy to show to many cats to our guests!
Species List for the Private Bobcat Photo Tour 2025
Mammals
| Coyote | Canis latrans |
| Bobcat | Lynx rufus |
| Tule Elk | Cervus elaphus hispanicus |
| Mule Deer | Odocoileus hemionus |
Birds
| California Quail | Callipepla californica |
| Anna’s Hummingbird | Calypte anna |
| Great Blue Heron | Ardea herodias |
| Great Egret | Ardea alba |
| Turkey Vulture | Cathartes aura |
| Northern Harrier | Circus cyaneus |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Buteo lineatus |
| Red-tailed Hawk | Buteo jamaicensis |
| American Kestrel | Falco sparverius |
| Northern Flicker | Colaptes auratus |
| Black Phoebe | Sayornis nigricans |
| Steller’s Jay | Cyanocitta stelleri |
| Western Scrub-Jay | Aphelocoma californica |
| American Crow | Corvus brachyrhynchos |
| Common Raven | Corvus corax |
| Western Bluebird | Sialia mexicana |
| White-crowned Sparrow | Zonotrichia leucophrys |
| Song Sparrow | Melospiza melodia |
| Red-winged Blackbird | Agelaius phoeniceus |
| Brewer’s Blackbird | Euphagus cyanocephalus |
