Coyote Serenade

We’re constantly delighted with the intrusion of the rural trappings of nature upon the suburban location of our neighborhood. However, one of those trappings had been noticeably absent in the past few months: coyotes.

That’s not entirely accurate. I had occasionally spotted one here and there, even in the middle of the afternoon, but we hadn’t heard their unique vocalizing in a while.

That changed late Sunday afternoon, as my wife and I walked through the neighborhood enjoying the beautiful weather. The full moon had just cleared the Midland Country Club treeline and I observed that its reflection in the pond would make a great photo.

As we made our way toward home, some distant sirens interrupted the evening calm, setting the neighborhood dogs to barking and yelping. They finally ceased their commotion and relative quiet returned…for a moment.

Suddenly, an amazing cacophony erupted, seeming to originate in the pasture less than half a mile south of us. The “missing” coyotes were back, and they were in fine voice. Their concert went on long enough – and was loud enough – to prompt us to try to capture some of it on our iPhones. Here’s the result of mine (cleaned up a bit to remove some background hiss and boost the gain a bit):

What had stimulated this unexpected serenade? My only explanation is that the tricksters had succumbed to the stereotype and they were reacting to the appearance of the full moon.

I can’t say that coyotes are welcome guests in our neighborhood, but if they’re going to hang around, it’s nice that they announce their presence in such interesting ways.