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| 8 images of a Coyote pack visiting our waterhole |
I have encountered small packs of Coyotes during early-morning hours in the desert, and I have heard them yelping and howling often enough at night in the arroyo beside our house (frequently when there's a full moon); but until yesterday--in all the time we've lived here--I had never seen a pack of them visiting the waterhole on our property, especially at 4:00 in the afternoon. They might have been out because the sky was incredibly dark in advance of yet another storm; it started raining at 5:00 and didn't let up until 2:00 a.m. The pack consisted of six or seven individuals, some young, some older, but they all seemed in a highly-excitable state, furtively looking about, quickly getting a quaff of water before taking off down the arroyo. I felt fortunate to have looked out the window in time to capture a few images of the desert denizens.
Becca and I didn't see any Coyotes on our morning trek today, but we did cross paths with several packs of Homo Sapiens; they were all over the mountain both yesterday and today. One encounter made me feel especially good about Becca. A woman jogger suddenly appeared in front of us, and I gave Becca the "come" command. When she did I gestured her off the trail and gave her the "down" command. She obliged. When the woman jogger passed us, she said, emphatically, "What a
good dog." I thanked her for the compliment, and then told Becca what a good girl she was. I'm sure not one of those Coyotes would have paid any attention to my commands.
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| An anvil thunderhead south toward El Paso |
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| Into the desert |
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| Ocotillos have greened out all over the mountain |
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| Southeast side of Las Cruces, New Mexico |
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| Organ Mountains in background |
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| Bishop Cap on the horizon |
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| Sandy dirt road |
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| Lush from all the recent rain |
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| Loggerhead Shrike |
3 comments:
Really nice photos of the coyotes, Packrat. As you say, it's unusual for them to be around at that time of day.
Nice images of the coyotes, Packrat! Congratulations! I can understand that they might be edgy if they're invading Becca's territory for a drink; certainly, they can smell her. Do you think that there's a lack of water out in the desert? Seems hard to believe they couldn't find a tinaja given all your rain lately. And, don't complain about the rain, desert dweller!
Thanks, Scott. We're definitely still under drought conditions here in the desert Southwest. Our drinking hole is a great convenience for desert critters, and I maintain it both to quench their thirst and to draw them near for observation purposes.
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