So handsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My husband took this picture from our living room window.  How handsome is this fellow?

Coyote action last night

Two coyotes made their way down the driveway Thursday evening. 

new outdoor cam

My husband received an outdoor camera for Christmas

that takes a picture when it detects movement. 

He mounted it on one of our trees and within 5 minutes we had our first wildlife picture.  

Hello there Mr Coyote. 

funny coyote

A few days ago I had my windows open on a pleasant afternoon.  I heard a coyote start barking and howling.  After a few minutes of this coyote continuously barking it peaked my interest enough to step outside onto my patio with my binoculars to see if I could spot its location.  By narrowing him down by sound I located him to be very roughly a half mile away - across undeveloped land.  He was standing on a berm howling.  He was far enough away that I could watch him bark (through the binoculars) and then a second later I would hear the bark.  Well, I was starting to wonder why he was just standing there making all this noise for a long period of time and then I saw for myself why he was barking. I watched two dogs run towards his direction, and then run past him on a straight course.  At one point they only looked to be a few feet away from him.  The dogs continued across the hills on their straight path.  It was a large black female who looked like a recent mother and a brown male pitbull type dog.  The coyote had been making all this noise because they were crossing his territory and he was powerless to do anything.  They were larger and better fed, and there was two of them.  He was barking to drive them off but it did absolutely no good to deter them.  At the moment they passed him, I noted that he did nothing except continue sitting and barking.  He didn't even stand on all fours.  After the two dogs ran off I looked back at the coyote who was still barking and I did a loud whistle at him.  He stopped barking, turned his head and looked in my direction.  He then resumed barking.  I whistled again, and again he stopped and then resumed barking.  After a few more back and forths between us I went back in the house and he piped down. 

coyote

Someday I'm going to get a real camera.  Until then my 8 yr old Kodak and narrative will have to do.  This furry guy jumped back and forth between two holes trying to dig out some kind of vermin.  A juicy mouse or a fat squirrel maybe?  He watched us as we mowed our lawn.  We'd stop and watch him dig for a while.  I hope he got his meal.

Coyote Den (east den)

o Here's a picture of a second coyote den.  The coyotes ran off as we approached the den.  The entrance is hidden in this picture and it's a bit tough to see here but an airvent/window is viewable to the left of the tree centered in this pic. 

Three amigos

Yesterday evening, about an hour before sunset, I was sitting quietly on my patio when I heard the cries and howls of coyotes break out.  Some were close and others were farther away.  I narrowed it down to three different locations that they were calling each other from.  I then spotted two of them about 100 yards from me and about 100 yards from each other.  One then trotted to the other while the third continued calling out from the farther location.  The two who were quickly near each other waited for the third to join them as he was on a distant hill and it took him about 5 minutes to make his way to the first pair.  What I found really interesting is that when the third coyote approached the first two he acted like a youthful puppy approaching a parent.  He wagged his tail in delight, he playfully jumped on the back of one, and then he fell off on to his back in a playful roll.  He was so happy to be reunited with his family that he couldn't hide his glee.  From the first howl to the reunion it lasted all of about 7 or 8 minutes.  This reminded me of footage one would see in a nature documentary. 

Coyote Den (north den)

Went for a walk a few days ago.  While talking and singing and making noise my nephew and I scared off 4 coyotes as we unknowingly approached their den.  We watched them run away and then inspected their home.   I was surprised to find it so close to our house.  The peak of the rock where you see the dark hole is the entry (about 3 ft high) and there's about 10 sq ft inside.  Plenty of room for some pups.  I suppose the coyotes have to live somewhere and this looks like as fine a den as any.    

Coyote

We see lots of coyote activity.  Some people see them as a danger or a nusense but I love them.  During the past couple of weeks I've found coyote scat outside my home several times.  I noticed it was loaded with some kind of wild berry.  This peaked my curiosity because I couldn't figure out where they were getting wild berries from - berries don't grow native here.  This very morning I saw four roaming around looking for breakfast.  Well, the berry mystery has been solved because these four coyotes were pulling the red pepper clumps off a wild pepper tree and were gobbling them up.  I had no idea they ate these.  One of the reasons I love the coyotes is because I'm a dog lover and I love the whole "pack" mentality.  So seeing the four of these pups together was great.  While our brushes with the coyotes have been frequent over the years, I've never experienced any danger of my own (not recommending anyone try and make friends with these wild animals).  I've found they usually run as soon as they spot humans.  One time we were sitting in our garage and a coyote trotted right by the front of the open garage door.  He went to our neighbors house and helped himself to the dog food.  He would take a bite and then position himself to watch us while he chewed.  Then he'd take another bite and turn to watch us again.  

Of course they often visit the chicken coop but have never been able to get in.  Once when I was pulling into my driveway I caught one trotting right alongside my car.  I stopped and rolled down my window and called to him.  He paused and tilted his head and then left.  It was pretty neat.  One of the biggest benefits of these guys is their help in keeping the squirrel, rabbit, and rodent population down.  At night when I hear them yap and yowl in excitement because they caught dinner I do a fist pump!