Image of bobcat in an osprey nest near Charlotte Harbor flies around social media

CHARLOTTE HARBOR – Capt. Greg Penix was taking a fishing charter through Turtle Bay in the Charlotte Harbor area when he saw the bobcat sitting in an osprey nest.  

Penix took a picture with his cellphone and shared it with a few friends. That was more than eight years ago, but the unexpected sight has been recently circulating on Facebook, after one of those friends, Capt. Scott Moore, shared it on his page. 

Moore, who operates Moore Fishing with his son Justin, from both Cortez and Boca Grande, said he last shared his friend’s photo on Facebook a couple of weeks ago, because he found it interesting. 

He’s posted it to the social media site at least one other time, in 2015. 

"I don’t like posting all the other garbage that goes on,” Moore said. “I like to post interesting stuff on my Facebook. It’s beautiful: it’s the entrance to Turtle Bay and Greg took that picture.” 

In addition to Moore’s post, the image was also shared on the “Florida, See it Like a Native” Facebook group by Steve Burkholder on April 21.  

Burkholder noted in his post that he got the photo through ABC7 meteorologist Bob Harrigan and credited it to Penix, though he erroneously noted that it was taken near Turtle Beach, which is on Siesta Key in unincorporated Sarasota County. 

Harrigan posted it to his Facebook page April 19.

Burkholder’s post was shared more than 6,100 times, according to the tagline that accompanied the post, including a share by a Georgia-based nonprofit that rescues injured wild birds, Bubba and Friends Inc. 

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Penix, who operates Capt. Greg Penix Fishing Charters from Boca Grande, isn’t sure he even has the original copy of the photo, which he believes was taken in the spring, eight years ago. 

“I don’t know if I even got it, that’s why I was excited to see it going,” said Penix, who’s had several people mention the photo to him – again. 

“It’s all over the dang world now, I guess,” Penix said. “I saw it on Scott’s Facebook and I commented on it and my wife saw it somewhere and this guy saw it somewhere – good lord.” 

Penix said he took the photo while on a snook fishing charter. 

Multiple osprey nests were visible, partly because the surrounding vegetation had not completely regrown from earlier hurricane damage. 

Penix figures the bobcat was in the osprey nest when the parents were away. 

“If you look at that picture, he’s not a scrawny little saltwater bobcat, he was a big bobcat,” Penix said. 

Shortly after Penix took that photo, he said the osprey parents returned and chased the big cat out of the tree. 

“When he went down, ospreys were swooping all over him and he was swatting at them,” Penix said. “He was going down that tree backwards. 

“When I saw the way he left the tree, I knew he had been there before.” 

“Thank goodness we were really close to the tree and got a good picture,” Penix said. “When you’re out on this water 30-35 years, you’re going to see some amazing things and every now and then get a good picture.” 

Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune.