Black and White Sunday: A Chorus of Howls

The coyotes continue to frequent our clearing. Most years, they disappear as soon as the wintery weather dissipates. For the winter, they are here most nights.

I like this photo because it shows that we have a new "Nick Ear" in the neighborhood. A coyote who I called "Nick Ear" used to show up on my trail cameras frequently. Then, a couple of years ago, I noticed blood on his fur in a trail camera photo. A few days later, I found his body. He'd been shot by someone who then let him wander around injured and dying for days. This guy looks healthy and strong.

I suspect that the nicks in his ear are either from fighting with other coyotes or from hunting.

When there is lots of snow, the coyotes also occasionally come around during the day. We pack down trails in the snow that lead to and fro our clearing, and I suspect that the coyotes simply take the paths of least resistance - all of which lead to our house. The coyotes look wary in the daylight.

On a recent evening, Shyla and I headed out for a hike. After I checked that our clearing was free of coyotes, I released Shyla from her lead. Then, I noticed coyote tracks walking carefully in my packed snow bike track. In the photo below, the coyote track is on the right and Shyla's slightly larger track in on the left.

After seeing the tracks, I called Shyla and put her on leash. Soon thereafter, howling erupted from a meadow very close to us. Shyla didn't seem particularly interested (thank goodness - perhaps she won't be a coyote-crazy dog like some of our others). We simply continued our hike and never saw the coyotes. My experience is that they usually want to steer clear of us. The one exception is when they try to lure a dog into their midst. Consequently, as long as the dogs are on leash, we feel safe.

Then, later in the same evening, I was setting up my regular camera on the deck for some star photos when a caucophony of howling erupted extremely close to the house. Several coyotes were howling in the vicinity of my trail cameras, and the howling of the pack was captured by the cameras. Unlike my previous coyote howling video, this one is truly a chorus of many. You can watch the short black and white video here or at Youtube.

My dogs responded to the actual howling by making noise of their own. R loves to howl like a wolf so he joined the chorus with melodic and mournful howls. Shyla barked excitedly. Myself, I love hearing the coyotes howling and yipping in the night. It's a hallmark of the west and the wild world we live in.