A Good Morning To Be Out

Submitted by Keith Bridgman

I walked all of 50 yards and realized I was already cold. A crisp, fresh scent in the air shoved along seemingly by a heavy winter chill penetrated all the way through my layered camouflaged clothing. With another 300 or so yards to go I hoped the pace would generate some much-needed warmth.

Underfoot the ground crunched in time with my steps as a heavy frost lay like a thin, white sheet over the dried, left over fall season leaves. As I rounded the wooded corner and stepped toward a clearing and onto the edge of the cornfield, I notice how the dried grasses that laced its surface glistened in the gray, half light of this chilly morning.

At least a year had passed since I last marched into an early winter morning. It felt good to finally get back to exploring some of the more enjoyable photographic adventures. Simple as it was, at least it felt like an adventure anyway. My goal was call in a coyote or two and get some quality photos of this elusive creature.

I walked along the south edge of the cornfield glancing with every other step or two toward where the sun was to first appear. A bright and clear sky laced with a few thin layers of high clouds forecast an optimistic sunny rise. Already the sky was beginning to glow with strong pastel oranges and yellows that gently filtered toward the higher up, once black of night, and blended into a softer blue.

Across the field a silver lining of that frost began to sparkle more as the light transitioned from soft gray to a warmer tone. Still shadowed at this point, it would not be long before the warming rays of the sun would lift the frosty coating. For now, though, I belonged to one of those down home, Kentucky mornings, where sky and landscape joined together to create a special moment in time.

I setup next to a six-foot cedar and deployed my DYI decoy contraption in the field about 30 yards out to one side. At first, I just sat in the crispy air and surveyed the fields spread out in front of me. About 175 yards away stretched the edge of a wooded area that wound its way across and around the northeastern end of the field. Probably 20 acres or so of corn stubble lay between and to the northwest another couple hundred acres rolled across the landscape. I figured this would be a good place for a coyote or two. I switched on the call and waited.

I waited some more…then some more. No coyotes appeared. Then some movement coming from the wooded area across from where I was caught my attention. Three deer, all does, were working their way along the edge and into the cornfield. One of them stopped several times and looked my way...not sure...but suspected something wasn't quite right. She lifted her leg...moved closer...snorted with burst of misty breath...stepped back...and took off.

Over the next hour and a half, I saw no coyotes, but I did see about 15 deer five of which came within about 25 yards. I managed to shoot over 400 images using a rapid-fire shutter. My 50 – 500mm Sigma lens with a 1.4 teleconverter attached performed flawlessly…even using manual focus. Eventually the deer grew wary of my presence, and wave good bye with their characteristic tail flag. By then though I had managed to capture a few good closeup images.

I was disappointed in not being able to call in a coyote or two, but the deer made up for it. Coyotes are tough critters to photograph and I’ll keep on trying. In the meantime, just being out in nature on such a glorious and crisp winter morning was reward enough.

As I struggled to my feet to relieve a building cramp in my leg, I realized just how much I had missed getting out like this. The sun full up now was beginning to thaw the landscape from its frosty cloak, so I gathered my gear and made my way back home. It was a good morning to be out.

Calling All Coyotes

Submitted by Keith Bridgman

Wildlife photography is probably the most difficult of photography endeavors to pursue. Wildlife in general can often be finicky and elusive. After all, they are wild. To be somewhat successful at it requires one to spend a great deal of time outdoors and to understand the ways of the wildlife being pursued.

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Over the years I’ve made various, mostly unsuccessful attempts to photograph wildlife, having captured a few lucky images from time to time, but nothing of real merit. I’ve even tried to photograph coyotes, unsuccessfully by the way, by calling them in using a hand-blown wounded rabbit call…which is a challenge to say the least.

Coyotes are fascinating, adaptable creatures. They can be found in all kinds of habitats and even though they are quite jumpy around people, they will readily take up residence in and around where people live. I recently heard that an estimated upwards to 20 million of them live in North America. That is incredible when you think about it, when so many animals are creeping toward extinction or have suffered dramatic reductions in their numbers thru habitat destruction, the coyote is thriving.

Prior to the 1940’s, coyotes were primarily a plains and western animal, but since have spread across the United States and can be found in every state. You’d think it would be an easy animal to photograph, but they are not as they are a wary and elusive animal.

As the new year 2020 approaches I’ve decided I want to capture some quality images of coyotes. As I live in the middle of farm country, there are no shortages of them around. I hear them all the time especially of an evening when a family unit begins their greeting yelping and howling. They often sound like they are in my backyard, but logic suggests they are farther away than they sound. I figure this will not be an easy task as they most often are not seen during the day but can be found late of an afternoon just before sundown and just after sunup.

I plan on using an electronic call…downloaded to my phone and played thru a speaker, along with a manually operated dyi decoy/attractor that waves around. The idea is to place the decoy and call some distance from where you set up so as to focus any curious coyote’s attention on the call and decoy instead of you. Camouflage is a must, from head to toe, and a blind is also a useful amenity. Any movement at all and a coyote will see it and be gone, so you must be hidden.

Camera equipment…well, you need a long lens something like 500mm preferably with a 1.4 teleconverter attached. A tripod for low light situations and shooting with a high ISO and fast shutter speeds along with rapid fire 8 to 10 frames per second shooting.

You gotta also place yourself with the wind in your face and be willing to brave the cold and early hours. Fortunately, I can just walk out my backdoor a few hundred yards and be in prime coyote country.

So, there you have it…my next challenge for 2020. Hopefully, the coyotes will cooperate. Even if they do not, the challenge of trying to do something like this carries its own just rewards. I’ve spent too much time sleeping in, too much time sitting around, and not nearly enough time doing the things I enjoy. Hopefully, that too will change for 2020.