coyotes

I had the pleasure of surprising these two coyotes the other day as I searched for the eagles at Mount Diablo. At one point I was watching the two coyotes coasting over the landscape to my left and two golden eagles feeding on the ground to my right, all in the same valley. Wow.

coyotes / Mt Diablo CA

It reminded me of another time I surprised a coyote (not easy to do), it was last Autumn on the Sonoma Coast. I was upwind and this coyote had plopped down below me on a knoll and started to clean himself. I approached and was very close to him – he only realized I was there when he heard the sound of my camera shutter, which was captured in the first shot seen below of an indignant coyote giving a piercing stare due to surprise and his bath-time interrupted.

surprised coyote / Sonoma Coast CA

levitating coyote 02 / Sonoma Coast CA

levitating coyote 01 / Sonoma Coast CA

As I was searching for the coyote pictures above, I stumbled on this picture I had taken of a black-tailed deer that same day – its antlers blended with the surrounding plants (cow parsnips) to make an interesting shot of animal form mimicking plant form.

black-tailed deer / Sonoma Coast CA