Last week I posted some fun images of a Coyote with Falcon leftovers taken along the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake with piles of ice in the background. Six days later, on January 1st, I had more fun with a Coyote in almost the same location.

Coyote running on the shoreline of the Great Salt LakeCoyote running on the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake  – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC 200mm, natural light, not baited or called in

The piles of ice from my earlier Coyote series of images are nearly gone due to some warm weather but the lake is still frozen in many areas. This Coyote was running; perhaps a better term would be galloping, along the shoreline and didn’t seem to be in the mood to hunt at all.

Coyote running along the Great Salt LakeCoyote on the go – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, not baited or called in

This Coyote looks a bit messier than the other one that I posted last week but I think that just adds to the scruffy reputation that Coyotes seem to have. I had to pull my zoom all the way back to 200mm to try to keep the Coyote in the frame as it ran and I still had plenty of shots where I had clipped a part of it.

Coyote with three feet off of the groundCoyote with three feet off of the ground – Nikon D300, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, not baited or called in

The Coyote was intent on its path and it was a challenge to try to get eye contact from it but several times it turned and looked my way. In the image above I was able to get three feet clearly off of the ground plus I had eye contact.

Coyote in the airCoyote in the air – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, not baited or called in

Several times I was able to capture photos of the Coyote with all four feet off of the ground, I liked this frame because all of the feet were in the air, the eye is clearly visible, the mouth is open and the teeth are showing plus I really like the setting. The out of focus vegetation on the bottom of the image isn’t ideal but I believe the strengths of the photo outweigh the minor distractions there.

Coyote braking to turn aroundCoyote braking to turn around – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, not baited or called in

I wanted to keep my shutter speed high to capture all the movement so I set my ISO to 640 and my aperture at f6.3, the light was great so I didn’t need to adjust my exposure compensation at all. I used Aperture Priority and Auto White Balance and those settings worked very well. When I took this last image the Coyote was slowing down to turn and go across to the other side of the road. I thanked the Coyote and went on down the road. (Yes, I thank my subjects) What a great day!

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to view more of my Coyote photos plus facts and information about this species.