My hunt was for photography subjects. Little did I know that I’d be peeking into another evening hunt, and that we were connected in a very similar plane.
We parked the truck in a familiar spot where we often get to view a variety of wild animals living out the golden hour. We see quail tiptoe out of the cover and feed alongside jackrabbits and prairie dogs. We spot hawks cruising above the straw, sometimes diving in after mice and sometimes muscling each other out of prime hunting grounds. We watch the burrowers, owls and prairie dogs, busy in preparations or just standing guard.
The coyote created tension in the evening script as he surfaced from the straw.
But this evening we were on the front row of drama as the coyote worked his way through the CRP straw following his nose…and his stomach. I’ve seen coyote prowls that paid off and others that came up empty. This male was on the scent within prairie dog space. As he eased his way out of cover, the rabbits scrambled, the quail were treed (literally), and hawks came off their perches.
He slipped through the old fence into the open prairie dog field, sniffed out a few burrows, and settled into one spot…one hidden treasure that must have been worth it. This hungry dog began to dig with all fours into a burrow, dirt and clods flying out behind him. Then he’d stop…listen…smell…and dig some more. His routine went on through several cycles, as the coyote sank lower and lower into the dirt. One last digging frenzy, and a high tail and flying debris were all we could see…a pause, desperate inspections…then he popped out of the hole with head and tail down, ambling now at a slower pace than when he arrived.
The hunt came up empty, matching his stomach. He slipped out of the prairie dog pasture and into the straw, an empty pace, ears low, and occasional sniffs. We could tell that this hunt was transitioning toward the next hunt…in the dark. And we were blessed to observe, record, and feel his empty hunt, while ours was 100% successful.
My photographic opportunities come up empty far more than I remember, but the occasions where the wild gets lived out in the lens are worth the empty hunts. Many exceptional photographic moments happen in the drive-by rather than in the sit-and-wait settings. The key is to be always looking, to get out there, and to be camera ready.
Happy hunting!
Craig