One Good Table Turn Deserves Another

Arroyo right next to Tortugas Mountain's west side

"Old eagle-eye" Becca was the first to spot the 4-pack of Coyotes on a ridge across a vast expanse of Chihuahuan Desert to the north of our position in the area west of Tortugas Mountain that I refer to as the "outback."  With the 65X telephoto zoom on my camera I was able to capture photos of them.  After they saw me waving to get their attention they decided it was time to mosey along, and they dropped below the ridge line heading east.

I decided if Becca and I struck northeast for an eighth of a mile or so we might encounter them at closer range.  We did.  As we came out of a swale and crested a different ridge we found three of them hunting for game.  They saw us immediately, though, and took off at a fast trot before I could snap a decent photo.  Knowing something about the topography in the direction of their departure I figured we could head them off again by striking due east.  But they turned the tables on us by disappearing completely, as Tricksters often do.  Not thirty seconds later the fourth Coyote, who had obviously split from the others, began barking and wailing in that siren-like sound they employ when communicating with one another.  "Hey, where are you guys?" he seemed to be saying.  The other three started wailing and yelping right away, perhaps saying, "We're over here, but watch out for the clown with the dog between you and us."  A moment later the fourth individual appeared below us stopping to stoop and poop, but when he spotted us--perhaps before he'd finished doing his business--he made tracks, quickly disappearing from sight without first wiping himself off or even using a bidet.

I felt pretty good about our Coyote encounter.  It is exceedingly rare to trick a Trickster, but Becca and I pulled it off this morning, catching them totally unawares.  Of course, as has been mentioned already, they completely turned the tables on us by vanishing into the desert.

Cactus Wren on an Ocotillo wand

Cactus Wren singing its song

X marks the spot for this Cactus Wren

Cottontail camouflage

Might as well eat while I'm in here

High-altitude cactus garden

Here's looking at you kid

White-winged dove

Three of the four Coyotes we spotted this morning

Making their way down a ridge line

Stopping to watch the others

Looking over at Becca and me

Eat prey, love

At this moment I'm waving at them

I've gotten this one's attention

Closer look

Time for a lie-down after the exhausting tracking of Coyotes

This arroyo sand is like a waterbed

Part of Tortugas (left) and the Organ Mountains