N.H. Winter Coyote

        A winter coyote looking for food during the 2014 winter in Success N.H. Despite the bad press some people give them, in my mind the eastern coyote (coywolf) is one of the most amazing and respectable animals-and one of the hardest to photograph. When it comes to being successful and filling a void in the eastern U.S.-they certainly take the cake.
      This set of pictures is only a few of many, but the coyote has that look in his eye-a wild look I would expect to see if I curled up on the open ground in nothing but a sleeping bag but had that nagging sensation like I was being watched. Poking my head out I can imagine seeing this face staring back...one to me that is questioning the difference between a threat and a potential meal. Lucky for me, the camera I built was designed for a long deployment. Set on September 22nd 2013, it was still taking pictures on June 4th 2014 when I checked it.

Coyote and deer come for a drink

        This camera got "wacked" pretty early on by a bull moose during the rut, so the camera angle isn't perfect for the coyote shot. This camera was only correctly positioned for a week before a moose changed the angle, and three days later it dealt the camera a final blow, knocking it to the ground. When I returned to the camera it was still working ~4 months later, although all the pictures were close up shots of moss and ferns once it was knocked down. I'm sure the camera angle isn't something a little photoshop couldn't fix, but I enjoy presenting photographs of nature as they are-without being touched up.

     During the rut the moose tend to knock any small and un-assuming stick down that stands near their path. Whether it's out of curiosity of anger, they target the sticks I use for holding up my cameras like it's their job. Have I learned my lesson? Nope. I'm always after the perfect shot, and as it so often happens, there isn't a tree in the middle of an animal path for the perfect angle so I will continue using large sticks to hold cameras, I'll just have to be a little more picky during the rut. 

A coyote walking away from the camera paused to smell a scat that another Canid left. Canid's often seem to be interested in other Canid sign-seemingly to ignore scent left from Felid's or other animals. Sometimes natural scent works the best, but it's all just one big experiment in the end. I placed a collection of different scats in front of the camera to what would interest the local wildlife. This picture was taken in Wyoming, with many, many more to come.