‘almost’ is good. 
I had a pair of pigeons fly out of the grass right at edge of bike path, one gave me no chance to avoid it, almost beheaded it with front wheel. 
[At least it was quick]
Possums (brush-tailed… ring-tailed stick to the trees far more), cats, & rabbits are a common near-hazard on the cycleway at night. And plovers/lapwings ‘threaten to be’ fairly regularly. Rarely: a pademelon, potoroo, or wallaby… but they tend to avoid light ‘earlier’.