SE Colorado Birding

Birding and discussion: A conservation-oriented birding blog that emphasizes low-impact birding and sustainable birding practices together with the enjoyment of birds. Southeast Colorado offers a diversity of habitats which provide premiere birding opportunities. Save Sabal Palm

Sunday, May 27, 2007

A coyote's successful hunt




I saw this coyote in some hay fields that are adjacent to the far east end of the Canon City Riverwalk. In the first pic the coyote can be seen intently watching for it's prey, a pose it held for several minutes while I watched. The second pic is of the coyote as it bounded into the grass to catch it's prey (in tall grass like this they often leap into the air as they pounce on their prey).

The last photo shows the coyote with its prey in its mouth (possibly a small rabbit) when it realized I was watching it only about 150-200 feet away (the prey can be seen by double-clicking on this pic to enlarge it). Though I used stealth to approach to this distance without alerting the coyote, I believe that the sounds of traffic on the busy county road only a quarter mile away masked my footsteps and facilitating undetected observation. The coyote appeared startled that I was this close and quickly ran off in the opposite direction.

I think that the noise pollution that our cars (and even more severe from trucks and the terribly noisy motorcyles and atv's) are making impact wildlife negatively. Had I been someone intent on shooting this coyote, which many are as they are considered vermin, I would have had the time to take aim and the ability to get close enough to have killed this coyote easily--a kill that would have been facilitated by noise pollution. Noise pollution also impacts bird species by interferring with their ability to hear the many songs and calls that are important in avian behavior.
SeEtta

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