After completing some tasks around the house for much of the weekend I needed to get out to an area park and enjoy the sun’s warmth. A few days earlier I had found the first native orchids to bloom at one park. Now I wanted to locate it at my favorite park to go for some nearby solitude. A place I’ve spent hundreds of hours exploring. My plan was to hike some of the spots that seemed most likely for the Showy Orchis to grow. These would take a little bit to get to as they are over a mile away from the parking lot through the woods. It was ok as I had set aside the entire afternoon to conduct my search. After a few hours of looking without success, something moved just ahead of me. I was looking towards the ground off to one side and only caught this motion out of the corner of my eye. My mind registered something dark about the size of a cat. It was late afternoon and I was trying to figure out what would be moving this time of day at that size. Logically it must have been a squirrel which went up the tree appearing larger than it is. Returning to my search for this orchid I dismissed that movement as nothing unique. I was now on a lesser used trail which I discovered several years ago one late fall afternoon. Continuing forward on this little trail I noticed a patch of newly emerged grass which appeared to have been matted down and somewhat brown. That seemed strange for this time of year. Taking a few more steps I once again noticed movement but this time I saw what created it moving away from me. A PUP!

Soon after I saw it, it saw me and took off towards the other pups. It seemed unsure though of what I was. And then there was another walking on the trail right towards me. Fortunately my camera was out and ready now for a quick shot before this one also decided to take off. As I looked around I realized I was right in the middle of their den. My next action was to scan the surroundings for their mother. Coyotes typically will stay hidden unless their pups are in danger and here I was so close to their playground. While I didn’t see a full size coyote, I kept listening for any off sound while watching these pups scatter back and forth. What to do? I could find a nice spot and set up for possibly some better pictures as the pups would likely return in time or I could find an exit and continue on my search for orchids. I decided to move up near a log close by and wait for a little while. A couple of pups did come back and started to play briefly. They scattered again and I decided it was time to return to my hunt. After looking around I found the direction I wanted to escape from to try and reduce my impact on this place for these coyotes. I started walking in one direction and there was a pup right in front of me. I turned to go another way and there was another laying under a shrub. It seemed I couldn’t get out of their place without causing a disturbance. Finally I made it away after waiting a few times for the pups to find their way without me scaring them too much.

Finally I was back on the hunt for wild orchids in an area I haven’t spent much time in. About an hour after discoveries these pups I decided to take a rest and grab a little water. There was a nice log for me to sit on and set my gear next to while I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the woods. I was looking around to see the surroundings and what’s growing nearby when something caught my attention up the hill from me. Watching closely in the direction of the sound I soon saw an adult coyote. That seems weird for this time of day I thought. I was now quite far away from the den I found earlier. Wow, multiple coyotes in a single day? After thinking about this for a few minutes I realized what most likely happened. One of the parents had been stalking me for this entire time. Over an hour I was being followed. The only reason I saw it was because I stopped making noise for a long enough time causing it to search in the last spot it heard me. I was quite impressed with how nonchalantly it walked through the woods in sight. Like it didn’t even know I was there. It barely looked in my direction but a quick glance once or twice. I’m quite certain this is far from reality. It knew where I was and figured I was likely no longer a threat and retreated to the den area after being spotted by me. This coyote no longer had the edge of being hidden while following me. After thinking about all of this it became a little uneasy knowing I was being stalked for such a long time without hearing this coyote. Another humbling experience in the woods. Unfortunately no orchids were found on my adventures this afternoon but the pups were a more than adequate substitute.