I Came for the Elk, but….

The elk rut season is here!  Something I’ve enjoyed long before my journey into photography.

I parked in the lot about 20 mins before there was any light in the sky, just a hint of dark blue.  There were already 5 other vehicles there.  I put my window down and sure enough the boys were bugling.  You could just make out their silhouettes on the opposite side of the field.

Still too dark for photos, I sat back and listened.  Peaceful and exciting all at the same time.  The crisp air coming into the car, the heavy scent of the pines in the air, and the elk bugling throughout the valley, I’ve been dreaming of this all summer!

As I listened, something didn’t seem right.  There were sounds that sounded like bugling, but at the same time didn’t.  Minutes later, three coyotes caught my eye.  Right in front of me, just down the hill from the lot.

They looked to be just as excited as I was.

They would stop, perk up their ears and just listen.

Once the elk would bugle, the coyotes would join in with howls.  It wasn’t the usual coyote yipping.  It almost sounded like they were trying to mimic the elk bugling. 

Then, it seemed out of sheer excitement, they would start jumping on one another and playing.

They must’ve had a fun night because soon they each curled up in the field to take a nap.  You could just see their pointy ears poking out of the tall grass.

Just as the light was getting bright enough for good photos, the elk pushed into the shrubs and trees.  I know it was about to get hot in the field and they were looking for cooler ground.  But, a part of me couldn’t help but think they did it to spite the cameras pointed at them.

The warm sunlight slowly made its way across the field and one by one the coyotes woke from their nap.  Yawning and stretching to wake up.

Eventually, they started across the field stopping occasionally to play all the way until they disappeared into the brush with the elk.