FreeLists / birdky / [birdky] Coyote, Phoebe, Kestrel behavior

["Lyneart" <lyneart@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This morning, upon breaching a wood margin and coming into a bean stubblefield, 
I spottted movement just over the hilltop. My binoculars revealed only the 
ridge of an unknown animal's back. It sank out of sight and reappeared a couple 
of time before cresting the hill and revealing itself to be a coyote/(red 
wolf?). Apparently, the snow glare and my stillness prevented it from spotting 
me and it continued on its way. It turned away from me when it first reached 
the wood margin, showing its black tail tip. It then backtracked toward me, 
stopped and looked around, showing its white throat, and then entered the woods 
without ever seeing me, as far as I could tell. Pepper (the dog) never saw it. 
  I went home to get my scope & camera in hopes of refinding it. No luck there, 
but I measured its paw prints and found them to be 3 inches long. Both my field 
guides list coyote prints at 2.5 inches, but neither gives a size for red wolf. 
  While out the second time, I saw one Kestrel perch atop another Kestrel until 
the bottom Kestrel took exception. They were both atop an isolated fence post 
marking a property boundary on an otherwise open plain. 
  Eastern Phoebes seem to be finding something worth their effort on top of the 
iced over ponds. 
  The ice melted along the edge enough yesterday for a Great Blue Heron to 
catch something. It looked like a fish, but since my pond isn't stocked with 
fish, it was probably a salamander nymph. They look just like fish at a 
distance. 
Frank Lyne frank@xxxxxxxxxxx near Dot in Logan County, KY