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06/02/2008: "Coyote Waits"

Yes, that's the title of a Tony Hillerman mystery novel, but it's also true of our little corner of Linn county. I was packing up the truck the other night in the twilight when I heard them: a whole chorus of unearthly howls from the coyote community, coming from the north-west, off by the river. It reminded me of some sad news that Nate passed on to me: we lost some of our duck flock to coyotes last month.

Nate had been allowing the ducks to go down to the seasonal creek in the pasture, which widens out into a little pond when the weather is rainy. One night he neglected to go down and herd the flock back up to the barn, and the next morning he found that coyotes had made a meal of four birds. All of the victims were Anconas, which are heavier birds than the Khaki Campbells (the Khaki Campbells can actually fly in a pinch, which probably contributed to their survival in this instance).

So, the coyotes are probably waiting for another opportunity, but in the meantime Nate is careful to lock up the ducks each night. Incidentally, the same night that the ducks were eaten was also the night that Homer the big orange cat slipped out and was not heard from for the better part of a week. We were afraid that he had also become coyote feed, but it turned out that he had just gotten lost. He came home five days later, looking a good deal slimmer. We think he got disoriented in the all grass, and it took him a while to find the house again. Luckily he did, or he might have become coyote chow.