From the Contact Station September 2021

Coyote - a howling success

We’ve been getting several coyote reports on the sightings board of late.  The haying operation, which started early in July, probably helped for a couple reasons.  First, the coyotes weren’t hidden by the high grasses anymore and, second, the critters the coyotes hunt were easier to find.   Our coyotes, Canus latrans, generally are gray but can show black, brown, or rusty fur. They weigh between 20 to 35 pounds and an adult male can be 25 inches tall at the shoulder. Coyotes have comparatively short, bushy tails that are carried low, almost dragging the ground. Their narrow muzzle is good for chasing rodents and other critters into holes in the ground. Its Latin name, Canis latrans, means “barking dog”. Coyotes create a variety of vocalizations from woofs and growls to whines and yips depending on the situation.

The coyote is a prominent character in Native American folklore, mainly in the Southwest US and northern Mexico.  Coyote warriors were depicted in pre-Columbian art.  At the time

of the European colonization of the Americas, coyotes were largely confined to open plains and arid regions of the western half of the continent getting the name Prairie Wolf. Now, they can be found from Alaska to Panama and have reached the eastern seaboard. Today in Washington, these adaptable animals manage to occupy almost every conceivable habitat type, from open ranch country to densely forested areas to downtown waterfronts. Despite increasing human encroachment and past efforts to eliminate coyotes, the species maintains its numbers and is increasing in some areas of our state. Although we don’t have a count of coyotes that call RNWR their home, we have seen them throughout the refuge. Individual feeding territories vary from 100 to 15,000 acres, depending on food abundance, adequate denning sites, and other competitive predators.  Our refuge is just above 5300 acres but very rich in food.  This spring, the Biotechs found a den while working around Big Lake (west of the dike between #11 and #12 on the auto tour).  I’ve seen coyotes a couple times crossing the field at the southern end of the auto tour this year.

Sometimes evidence of their presence can be found along the road or while walking the Kiwa Trail.  Look for tracks in soft earth or mud (not that we have had any of late).  The prints are like dog but are slightly elongated at 2.5 inches long and 2 inches wide. Coyotes can leave hair behind when crawling under or over fallen tree trunks or fences.  Finding scat is probably more likely. Droppings vary in size and shape but generally are 3 to 4 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. There can be hair in them, or they might be semiliquid and black if the recent meal was pure meat. If they are eating fruits and berries, the scat will be crumbly. Probably more than you wanted to know about coyote pooh.

Coyotes do prefer a diet of meat, hunting rabbits, hares, rodents, deer, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.  Certainly, our refuge has an ample supply of favorite foods for the coyotes.  I haven’t heard of any loss of deer to the coyotes yet though.  With a keen sense of smell, coyotes will sniff and excavate prey, including moles, voles, and gophers. I once watched a very intent coyote repeatedly pounce and dig for several minutes until it came up with a furry prize for its lunch.  A very determined coyote it was.

The basic social unit of a coyote pack is a family containing a reproductive female. Families

are formed in midwinter when females enter estrus. During the pregnancy, the male frequently hunts alone and brings back food for the female. The female may line the den with dried grass or with fur pulled from her belly. The gestation period is 63 days, with an average litter of six, though the number fluctuates depending on coyote population density and the abundance of food. Pups are completely dependent on milk for their first 10 days.  After 10 days, their eyes open and they become increasingly more mobile, walking by 20 days, and running at six weeks. By four to six weeks, the pups are given small food items.  The male plays an active role in feeding, grooming, and guarding the pups. The den is abandoned by June or July, and the pups follow their parents to patrol their territory and hunt. Pups may leave their families in August. The pups attain adult dimensions at eight months and gain adult weight a month later. So, if our Big Lake den was successful, we should have more fully grown coyotes by late fall or so.

Meanwhile, southern migration is in full swing. A wide variety of shorebirds have been spotted where there is some water and muddy edges left in the ponds.  Songbirds are showing up and raptors are beginning to appear on the landscape, probably chasing some of those songbirds.  This morning (August 27) I had forty White Pelicans circling in the western skies over the Columbia River.  A beautiful sight to watch.  But it took scanning through binoculars to find them as they tend to disappear against the clouds as they turn.  Enjoy the migration and the wonderful fall weather to come.

-Susan Setterberg, Contact Station Volunteer