TRnCO , It's normally been a little later in the year that I have noticed them not talking to me I'm curious as to what is the normal time for you to notice this and am wondering what the stage of the moon was at this time where you are . I have noticed in my area that at times when the moon has just been down for a couple of hours or it isn't going to rise for a few hours that they become quiet as well as that once they have howled it takes them some time before they will howl again . That's an interesting observation you made .
Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote
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TRnCO
Well-Known Member
with all my years of calling I still haven't pin pointed what exactly it is that makes them so vocal compared to not vocal at all.
For instance, a weekend earlier a friend and I went out for a full day of calling and they were pretty vocal all day long, without any input from us. For the most part all I used to call them in was on/off/on rabbit. Didn't need anything else as they were coming to rabbit pretty good. BUT yet we heard several pairs/groups howl probably 5 or 6 times through out the day.
And then this past Saturday I started with howls on 4 different stands and not a one vocally responded, although I did call coyotes on two of the stands that I started with howls, so obviously they heard me but never said a peep.
I do know that coming into Feb. and especially March, they will be more vocal then any of time of the winter. Obviously because they've started pairing and starting to claim their territory. Around here it seems that this may be the beginning of it all.
With that all said, since I got a late start because of the really warm weather, I am still using rabbit a lot because I have yet to hunt everything that I can even the first time.
For instance, a weekend earlier a friend and I went out for a full day of calling and they were pretty vocal all day long, without any input from us. For the most part all I used to call them in was on/off/on rabbit. Didn't need anything else as they were coming to rabbit pretty good. BUT yet we heard several pairs/groups howl probably 5 or 6 times through out the day.
And then this past Saturday I started with howls on 4 different stands and not a one vocally responded, although I did call coyotes on two of the stands that I started with howls, so obviously they heard me but never said a peep.
I do know that coming into Feb. and especially March, they will be more vocal then any of time of the winter. Obviously because they've started pairing and starting to claim their territory. Around here it seems that this may be the beginning of it all.
With that all said, since I got a late start because of the really warm weather, I am still using rabbit a lot because I have yet to hunt everything that I can even the first time.
TRnCO , Here I have noticed that the moon seems to play a big part in how vocal they are kind of like it plays a part in how active they are at what times of the day as it plays a part in how active the prey animals are so I was wondering if you had noticed the same thing in your area to kind of confirm or say that I made an error and might need to redo my observations . I started to think about the moon effecting them several years ago when I read a study done on sea urchins and the moon rise causing them to start feeding . Even when they were taken from the east coast and to Kansas they would adjust their feeding to the moon in their new location . So I started to watch the deer and they did the same , they would get active about 2 hours before moon rise till about 2 hours after moon rise then again about 2 hours before moon set till about 2 hours after moon set and compared the coyote activity with the deer activity and noticed that they weren't as vocal at times when the moon had been up or set for a couple of hours but during times when the moon was up during daylight hours they seemed to be active the whole day . This paid for me when doing control work by being able to kind of know the best times and days to call some of the educated coyote as well as when I would have better results with my traps and snares when the moon wasn't full and was on the increase instead of the decrease as they tended to be more active during the increase faze of the moon . But this is just what I have noticed and haven't compared them with others .
When I look at the moon rise and set times for January 10th 2022 it's moon rise at 12:10 P.M. and set at 12:56 A.M. . Then on the 15th moon rise is at 2:48 P.M. and set at 6:04 A.M. . So then the week this , before the moon was up or coming up in the mornings and setting in the evenings when they were vocal . Then when they weren't so vocal the moon was coming up in the evening and setting in the morning . It would be interesting if others would check this out to see what they observe in relationship to the moon and tell us what they find .
Very interesting, thanks for sharing.
TRnCO
Well-Known Member
I've honestly never kept track of the moon "rise" and "set" times. All I ever kept track of was moon phase and I never could put my finger on any pattern that correlated with the phase. Seemed like the current weather pattern had more effect on action then the phase ever did.
Personally I've noticed some correlations with both weather and the moon. I agree with DSheetz on the rise and set times and activity levels in just about everything I hunt. IME an hour or so from rise and anytime the moon is in the sky during the day I see and have more luck while hunting. BUT in my area weather always trumps when it gets really cold. Our weather fluctuates so much here from warm to cold to really cold. Everything has to eat more to keep warm so stands to reason that activity levels pick up also.
I have noticed that the animals do tend to be on the move and eating for a couple of days before a storm then lay down during the storm and get to feeding after it . Here they tend to lay up and wait out the real hot part of the day as well in the summer . The coyote will for sure be getting very vocal here starting in Feb. as what TRnCO said holds true here as well they are claiming their areas to pup in if they are going to have pups but also those that aren't will be setting up a home range and be defending them , they don't want to trespass on others at this time of the year even if they aren't with pups . Here after they have pupped or if they aren't going to have pups some where around the end of April they will get quiet and seem to only talk when they are coming in to each other after being out feeding and getting a drink , and then it tends to be just single howls and a single howl in response . But I have noticed that my howls will be responded to with a few challenge barks and short howls often but some of them , when I'm in their home area they often just show up looking to run me out of it , without saying anything . In late May or early June they get real vocal here as the pups are trying out their new voices and you will have sunrise serenade's . For a control worker it's a busy time of the year when you want to be there to hear them and locate the dens that way . for control workers this is just the start of the busy season starting in January and slowing in July before it gets real busy again the end of Aug. or mid Sept. when the adults are training the pups to hunt and kill .
In the late 80's I was doing control work for a ranch and one cold November morning I was out in one of their pastures doing some calling as well as checking some snares . As I called one draw I saw some movement down in the bottom of the draw but it just didn't fit in with what I should have been seeing . I watched it as it moved toward me slowly swinging it's head from side to side and grunting . It was a Vietnamize pot bellied pig coming in . I went back to my truck and called the rancher on my bag phone . She said no they didn't have any pigs running in that pasture but she thought she knew who's pig it was and if I got the chance to catch it and bring it to the house . It was actually a pretty friendly pig I got my catch pole loop around it's head and it followed along like a dog on a lead . We got to the truck I put it in the back and took it to the ranch house dropped it off in the corrals . A couple of days latter I asked about the pig She told me that the woman who owned the pig denied it being Her's as she had some mental problems and her husband had abandoned her in a trailer with out heat or water leaving her with the pig and a couple of dogs she couldn't feed herself let alone the animals so she had turned them out to fend for themselves . The rancher contacted the state welfare department who got in contact with the woman and took her in to a housing placement for people in need . They got her cleaned up , fed and clothed plus the help she needed . The pig was given to the Peruvian ranch hands who promptly ate it . There are some strange twists in life and some times odd happenings end up bringing the best for people you wouldn't even be involved or know about in your every day life . A stray pig saved her life most likely .
Nobody was born with the knowledge to know how many coyote are talking or how far they are from you when they are . It's a learned process . Most of us will learn to listen to the howls not the kiyi's so that we can tell how many coyote are talking , they are like humans in that they have different sounding voices when they howl but are harder to tell apart when there are two or maybe more of them talking with the kiyi's at the same time . The distance to them is harder to learn because the atmospheric conditions will affect it so much but all the same can be learned with time and patience as well as a good pair of binoculars . Now we have some very good range finders as well and figuring out the distances has been simplified . If it's your job to stop coyote or other animals from killing stock , you will figure out why and what it is that is causing you to have a hard time getting them to respond to you so that in the future when you encounter a similar situation you have an idea as to how to overcome it and work around the hard spots . often less is your best bet and the simpler ways work the best at these times .
Breeding season for coyote isn't something that comes and goes in a totally predictable time frame . We can pin it down to kind of a time period from January to March though . I took a den of coyote pups as early as the 8th of April , that had 6 new born pups maybe a day old , and one with new born pups as late as the 15th of June , that had , four , one day old pups in it . The den in April had an old female she was probably 6 or 7 years old , she had thick ears and showed quite a lot of wear on her teeth . The den in June had a younger female she was only a yearling . She still had thin ears and sharp points on her teeth . Over the years of keeping notes I found that it appears that the older females pup earlier then the younger females . I also noted that the size of the litter depends on the available food . More food healthier females carrying and having more pups . Less food available and smaller litters of pups . More then once I have taken dens with 10 to 13 pups in the litter when they had plenty of prey to feed on . When the prey base was low often I would take dens with an average of 5 pups , some with only 3 to 4 pups and some with up to 6 pups . Even in good years with plenty of prey my notes show that the younger females didn't have as many pups as the older females . When you check out the females it showed that the older females had a better layer of fat on them then the younger females so I concluded the litter size was due to the abilities of the females to hunt and feed themselves thus the health of the females . I believe that also has a big part in the timing of the females cycle and receptiveness to being bred . Last year one of the guys that I worked closely with took a female that didn't have a uterus . In more then 40 years this was the first time I had ever heard of that being the case . It would be interesting to know what the cause of that was , but he didn't send her in for study just took pictures , And new things just keep showing up don't they .
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Todays world of calling is different then 15 years ago and way different then it was 30 or 40 years ago . To begin with today there are good quality e-calls on the market pretty much any e-call you buy today is of good quality . There are so many hand calls on the market today that are good that the choice of closed reed or open reed is the biggest question . My preference is a wooden call because of the tone , in an open reed . With so many people in the field calling trying to be as professional as we can is important to my way of thinking , showing respect to the land owners , drive on the roads , drive when it isn't muddy , tell the owner if you find a gate open or downed fence , let them know if you see sick or dead animals and where they are . respecting the animals not only that we are calling and hunting but the other animals in the field and the other hunters out looking to have an enjoyable day in the field . Think about what it is that you may be wanting to take to the field with you and preplanning your hunt will help you to have a good day a field . If you are hunting the areas that you have before then you pretty much know what terrain you are looking at and can decide what you will need with you for it . If it's a new area you can look at it from a satellite image and get a good idea of the terrain so you can be prepared before you get there . Calling and hunting is a lot about thinking what happens if I do this what are the consequences of my actions today for tomorrow and down the road some time latter on even if we are just out to be pleasure hunters and only going out a few times a year . Years back when West Nile was first coming to the United States I had to go to some training class's every 3 years for my certifications . The state vet was telling us about where the virus was in the country and he figured it would start to show up in our state by summers end . One of the first indicators he said would be seeing dead black birds . I told the ranchers that I worked for about the virus and that their horses would need vaccinated for it most likely with in the year . I started to find dead Medow Larks ( they are in the black bird family ) so I informed the ranches of this . I got what the Dr's said was a mild case of west Nile sure glad it was only a mild case I was down for a week fever chills migraine type headache just touching the hair on my arms hurt . I told one of my rancher friends about how it had affected me . A couple of weeks latter one of his good horses was acting strange it didn't want him to put the bridal on and was skittish when he put the saddle blanket on him . He said I thought about what you had told me about your skin and hair being sensitive to the touch . His horse had west Nile . That is just an example of showing respect for the land and land owners . They do appreciate it and remember it . I thought about writing this as a couple of entries but decided to combine them as to me they are related to each other .
In the mid 80's I was up in the mountains calling coyote . It was mid summer a nice clear afternoon around 85 degrees . I saw an antelope buck standing with his head hanging down breathing hard on a ridge maybe half a mile out from me as I came up a road to the ridge line . It didn't look right so I stopped and sat watching it . pretty soon I noticed a golden eagle circling over head , it swooped down and hit the antelope in the back , the antelope ran several yards then stopped and stood again . Soon the eagle hit him in the back again . This was done several times then after awhile the antelope just stood there tired out . The eagle then landed on it's back and started picking at it's rib cage till it went down . I have no idea how long this had been going on before I saw it and started watching it but I know that I watched it for over 30 minutes before the antelope went down . I have watched eagles hit jack rabbits and lambs before then they pick them up and fly up with them often dropping them from quite some height before setting down and eating on them . Another day I watched a pair of golden eagles chasing a mule deer doe and fawn . The doe and fawn ran into some brush and small aspen trees . One of the eagles circled overhead as one landed in the trees and brush only the doe came out of them , then the other eagle landed in the trees . Here the bald eagles migrate back in January , some stay all winter but large number of them return in January . I was doing some beaver work on the North Plate River when this was taking place . There were probably 20 bald eagles setting in the trees along the stretch of river where I had my beaver sets . I watched as a mature bald eagle swooped down caught a fish and started fly upward with it when an immature eagle tried to grab it from the mature eagle . It was quite interesting watching them in flight struggling over a fish . I guess the adult was trying to tell the immature eagle it was time to earn it's own way in the world as it kept the fish and landed in a tree then started to dine on it's prize . When I was out hunting and calling I got to see so much that I other wise would have not been able to see there is so much that is interesting to me out there . I hope that you all get to see and experience some of these things that happen in our world .
