okay so i picked up my dan-cam smock from the post office depo this morning, i decided to take the scenic route back along the local moss and brook.
i stopped at the head of the brook to take some pictures of the water, i got quite a shock though.
At first i thought it was a fox darting up the embankment as it was quite large, then i saw the black stripes and the face. "oh, its a cat" except it was bushy and brown with black stripes, it had large black stripes on the tail which promptly ended with a big black end which again was bushy NOT tapered like a domestic cat.
i brought my phone up to take a pic and it had disappeared, foolishly i lowered my phone to look and it made its last dart out of the brush it was hiding in and then off into some denser wood.
thats really when i caught my best glimpse of it.
i've been over it in my mind several times and was muttering to myself all the way to the train station this morning with excitement.
If it wasn't for autumnwatch i reckon i'd have dismissed it as "just a cat" except the patterns and colouration especially that tail set off massive AWOOOGA like alarms in my head.
I live on the border of cheshire and Lancs so right now i'm wondering how a scottish wild cat got so far south, but i'm now on a mission, decent camera will be ready shortly and i know that area well, there's houses to one side and farmers land and a moss to the other, there's a fair bit of woods to hide in but i reckon i can get another snap if i'm patient, or possibly hang around there 24/7...
i know this sounds crazy and believe me i have thought i was just imagining it but those alarm bells just went off. i've looked up pics on the net and i'm positive of the ident.
i'm going to wait till i have pics to report it to whomever i need to report it to because tbh "hi i've spotted a scottish wild cat" is prolly quite a common thing to hear.
A very stunned - Pete
i stopped at the head of the brook to take some pictures of the water, i got quite a shock though.
At first i thought it was a fox darting up the embankment as it was quite large, then i saw the black stripes and the face. "oh, its a cat" except it was bushy and brown with black stripes, it had large black stripes on the tail which promptly ended with a big black end which again was bushy NOT tapered like a domestic cat.
i brought my phone up to take a pic and it had disappeared, foolishly i lowered my phone to look and it made its last dart out of the brush it was hiding in and then off into some denser wood.
thats really when i caught my best glimpse of it.
i've been over it in my mind several times and was muttering to myself all the way to the train station this morning with excitement.
If it wasn't for autumnwatch i reckon i'd have dismissed it as "just a cat" except the patterns and colouration especially that tail set off massive AWOOOGA like alarms in my head.
I live on the border of cheshire and Lancs so right now i'm wondering how a scottish wild cat got so far south, but i'm now on a mission, decent camera will be ready shortly and i know that area well, there's houses to one side and farmers land and a moss to the other, there's a fair bit of woods to hide in but i reckon i can get another snap if i'm patient, or possibly hang around there 24/7...
i know this sounds crazy and believe me i have thought i was just imagining it but those alarm bells just went off. i've looked up pics on the net and i'm positive of the ident.
i'm going to wait till i have pics to report it to whomever i need to report it to because tbh "hi i've spotted a scottish wild cat" is prolly quite a common thing to hear.
A very stunned - Pete