As I pulled up to the observation blind at Ridgefield, I noticed this coyote standing a little farther up the road. It wasn’t in a very photogenic location, so I got out of the car and just watched it instead of trying for pictures. Eventually it sauntered up the road, occasionally turning back to watch me, before disappearing around the bend. I continued up the short trail to the blind and didn’t expect to see it again, but after returning to the car we met once more at the parking lot to the Kiwa Trail. I drove to the far side of the lot to get better light then gently swung the car into place so as not to disturb the coyote. After searching around in the meadow, it howled a few times, unanswered, then slipped through the gate across the trailhead and disappeared up the trail.

I’ve heard coyotes howl many times but this remains the only time I’ve seen it. While I took a number of pictures, this was the only one where its head wasn’t turned away from me.

This is another picture I edited after sorting through some old images, it was taken in April of 2006. I’ve had another image from the series online before, in that one the coyote’s head was raised further up in mid-howl, but in retrospect I like this one better where its head is turned into the light.