Coyotes in Our Midst

[terrib]

A few weeks ago, I saw this coyote from my kitchen window in our field in the nice morning light. I've found that coyotes, when they spot you, almost always stare, then run off a ways and turn back to look at you again. Grabbed the first shot below after he had run off a ways. It's cropped about 40%.

A few days ago, mid afternoon, my sister spotted the second one out my studio window. Tried to be quiet as I snuck out of the house and around the corner but these guys hear very good. As I peeked around the corner, he was staring straight at me but I managed to grab this shot before he took off. This one is cropped about 20%.

The third picture (cropped about 50%) is what I saw after he took off. Looking at their size and the shape of their heads, I'm guessing the other one is his mate. Although my neighbor and her goats might not be happy, I'm hoping these two make their den in the woods at the back of our property. I'd be thrilled to have the opportunity to photograph pups! While waiting for sunrise to photograph ducks on our pond back there, I heard a coyote very close in those woods. So maybe...

Anyway, mostly just sharing but C&C is always welcome. Shots of opportunity, handheld at 400mm. The last one is definitely fuzzy.

[Shadowman]

There must be something near your home that's attracting them, hopefully any pets are kept inside. Nice images.

[FrankMi]

Very nice Terri! It will be interesting to watch this scenario over time to see how they make out. Hopefully there is enough small game in the area so that they don't need to poach livestock to survive. You could try to identify their markings so that you can verify how many there are and which one you are seeing. A sighting log may also help.

[rpcrowe]

While I love wildlife, I am not keen on coyotes around my property; even though it is fenced.

If I were raising animals like goats or sheep, I would definitely have a protector dog such as an Anatolian Shepherd.

When I first moved into my home, there were many coyotes in the area. I had a wonderful dog, a German Shepherd (called Alsatian in the U.K.); Golden Retriever and Timber Wolf mix, who protected my property. She was 85 pounds (~39 kilograms) and had the demeanor which coyotes seemed to consider threatening. I saw her chase off a trio of coyotes from behind our tall chain link fence.

My goldendoodle is nowhere near as threatening but, we do not see coyotes around here any longer...

Protector dogs are an environmentally friendly way to protect livestock from predators. They include, Anatolian Shepherds, Great Pyrenees and many others...

[Wavelength]

great set

[terrib]

There must be something near your home that's attracting them, hopefully any pets are kept inside. Nice images.

John, If I were a coyote I'd like it here. 40 acres with a 15 acre lake at the back and other small ponds. Several acres of thick woods a good distance from human activity. Several acres of more open woods and the rest open pastures with lots of rodents. Surrounded by other properties of the same makeup.

In the second photo, he is standing close to several old bales of hay that have been rotting in the pasture for years providing good habitat for rodents. Both times, he paused here presumably to look for a meal on his way through. What I should do is set up my game camera toward that spot.

[terrib]

Very nice Terri! It will be interesting to watch this scenario over time to see how they make out. Hopefully there is enough small game in the area so that they don't need to poach livestock to survive. You could try to identify their markings so that you can verify how many there are and which one you are seeing. A sighting log may also help.

Thanks, Frank. That's a good suggestion.

[terrib]

Protector dogs are an environmentally friendly way to protect livestock from predators. They include, Anatolian Shepherds, Great Pyrenees and many others...

I agree. I think the goats next door are fairly safe with the donkey she has for protection. That donkey doesn't let anything new come in to that pasture. I have several friends that have used Anatolians and Pyrenees for protection. I love both breeds but thought if I ever got a protection animal it would be a Llama so I could also use his wool. The years that we had a small herd of goats, we never had issues with coyotes probably because we kept them pretty close to the house and we were here most of the time. We had more trouble with stray dogs (or pet dogs not kept at home by their owners). But sightings of coyotes over the years have come in cycles so we may have just been lucky. I'm glad to not be worrying about that now.

[deetheturk]

Nice set of images Terri,well captured

David

[terrib]

Thank you, Nandakumar and David for your kind comments.

[jamn4ex]

donkeys will keep coyotes away.

[Digital]

Terri, great images as well as your narrative.



Bruce

[Sergio M.]

Very nice lighting on the first. Well done on all, even the third being slightly blurred. You still get a sense of the animal.

Sergio

[Bobobird]

Nice images. I do like #2. He stands out so well in there.

[Downrigger]

Nice set, Terri - photos of opportunity is about what you'll get with these guys and you did just great. I keep hoping for such an opportunity myself.

They have made such an interesting story of themselves with their resurgence. I think they are very attractive but around here are hard on livestock and pets - cats and not-so-big dogs not uncommonly lost to them. Utah has a bounty on them, which I find a sort of ugly idea.

[kdoc856]

Protector dogs are an environmentally friendly way to protect livestock from predators. They include, Anatolian Shepherds, Great Pyrenees and many others...

A close friend of mine raises/trains Labrador field dogs for hunting and competition, and lives in an area of high coyote population. He'll let any of his animals over about 60 lbs. run free, and has never lost one. anything under 60, he considers bait.

[FlyingSquirrel]

First of all, I am jealous that you own land/property and that you can say "in our field." If I owned land, you know I'd be out there building hides all over the darn place. Well anyway, very nice pics, I love the light, great poses and looks on the animal. I look forward to more photos...would you consider setting up a hunting blind and waiting for stunning close up shots? Pretty please?

[rpcrowe]

People in Southern California loose many pets to coyotes. Even in mostly urban areas, the coyotes will take advantage of any wild areas in which to live and hide.

Here is a recent story from tonight's news...
http://www.10news.com/news/encinitas...-attack-020714

[terrib]

Thanks for the encouraging and nice comments about the photos. Technically I need to improve my handheld shots. Even the second shot is not as sharp as it should be. I had room in the ISO on that one to get a faster shutter speed but failed to change it.

Matt, I've been researching different options on hunting blinds. For the moment I plan to put a game camera in several locations to get a feel for their movements and routines so that I can decide how I might set up something. I currently have my husbands portable dome hunting blind but I need something I can leave set up and I don't want that stolen by the hunters or fishermen who come on to my land (uninvited). I'm considering building something on a flatbed trailer that I have because it couldn't be hauled off so easily or torn up by the animals but I'd still be able to move it around. I'd like to leave it set up so that the animals get used to it and so I can enter more easily without being spotted. When I went to the lake a few days ago before sunrise to try to catch a swan family, even though it was still pretty dark, they saw me from the other side of the lake and moved around the bend. I found this long article on how to build photography blinds. http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlif...on-Low-Res.pdf Most of what is there is more elaborate than what I can do, it has a lot of good information to think about. I've also used camo cloth draped over our utility vehicle (Kawasaki Mule) with success in waiting out hawks but I can't leave that set up. I do intend to use that cloth to make a hoop blind that I can prop up around me which will be cheap, portable and will work whether I'm sitting or standing or wading in water (not likely ) So, yeah, you don't have to say pretty please. I'm definitely considering. Just have to turn that into action!

[FlyingSquirrel]

Terri, thanks for the reply. I will look at that pdf- a quick glance at the first few pages looks really interesting! Good luck with your plans and efforts. I am waiting patiently for your next set of photos