Coyote came a callin'

Early this morning, I was woken from my sleep by the call of my husband. It was still dark out and when I glanced at the clock it flashed 3:30 am. Why did he wake me? Not that I was mad, in fact I was thankful because I was having weird dreams bordering on nightmares. I sat up in bed and felt for my glasses. Once able to see, I forced myself to focus on the silhouetted figure peering out the window. "Quick! Come look at this..." he whispered. Something had triggered the floodlight, but what?!

My mind was racing...was someone out there? Did I need my hockey stick? "What is it?" I demanded- whispering back.

"Coyote- there are 2 at the end of the driveway."

I was out of bed and looking out the window in a second. I could barely see the outline of a large canine at the end of the 50 foot driveway. Yes, it was a coyote indeed. "Where is the 2nd one?" I queried.

"It must've gone in to the bushes." Our property borders a greenbelt along Longfellow Creek and I've often heard coyote in "our backyard." I've heard up to 5-6 running in a pack late at night in the past.

I decided to chance running in to the next room to get my binoculars for a better look. He was still there. The floodlight barely reached him and he stood like the saying "a deer caught in the headlights." He seemed to be looking right at us while I was able to get a close look at this fine specimen. He looked like a healthy adult with a beautiful fine coat. He looked fast and agile. (The first coyote I saw was about 4 years ago when I was on my way to work just after daybreak. The coyote followed the Longfellow Creek trail and sauntered across SW Brandon right in front of me in my truck and 2 girls walking to school. The 3 of us had stopped in awe of the creature that looked old and salty with its matted fur. I have also seen a young, adolescent coyote bound across the road like a jack-rabbit in front of me at about the same time on 2 different occasions).

We watched the coyote until the floodlight dimmed. Then the coyote withdrew back in to the shadow of the woods.

Call of the wild

Usually I hear the coyotes hunting in a pack out in the woods really late at night or early in the morning, but last night I just heard one. I'm pretty sure this is the same guy that woke me up last Saturday morning going on a good 30 minutes which I thought was odd since it was daylight (albeit a foggy morning).

This is the first time I got out of bed and tried to record the coyote. There is no image on the video since it was night time- just black and a tiny flashing light off in the distance. Please excuse the background noise due to the freeway and port? It's not as exciting as the pack hunting in a group, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.