Just a few weeks ago I was complaining of the paucity of photos I had waiting for post fodder, but in just two memorable outings since then I’ve accrued enough pictures for a month of posts! The weekend before last I finally made it back to Point Reyes National Seashore – my favorite spot – and although I didn’t see any of the burrowing owls I was rather hoping to see, it was a really, really great day. I even saw something almost better than a burrowing owl: a species though not quite as rare (any longer), one I adore and hadn’t yet seen in the wild. But before we get to that, let’s talk about how Point Reyes is turning into Coyote Central for me! I used to complain that I never see coyotes. But then I saw my first at Point Reyes, and then I saw another on my next trip to Point Reyes, and then I saw my third on my next trip to Point Reyes! The first one I saw while driving and wasn’t able to get a picture. The second I got pictures of but they were not very good. Then the third one I saw while approaching the Chimney Rock trailhead parking lot, and he was really close to the road. I stopped the car in the middle of the road, rolled down my passenger window, and snapped a couple of pictures through the window. I wasn’t satisfied with that, though, and the coyote looked so calm (I got the impression he was kind of elderly, to be honest – he seemed literally long in the tooth), that I got out of the car and took a bunch of photos. I was using my 400mm lens, but these photos are not cropped, he was so close. Actually, at times it was impossible to fit him into the frame: he was TOO close for the lens! It was really, really great! I’d been so depressed about not being able to get out for so long, and encountering this coyote – before I even got to the trail! – really made my month.
He appeared to be rather lazily tracking some small rodent.
And he pounced!
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