Urban Hawks

Tonight, I got to follow the coyote outside of the Hallett Sanctuary area.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the coyote leave the southern exit of Hallett, jump onto the path and go up the stairs towards Sixth Avenue.  I couldn’t see where the coyote went, but assumed it was up to Cop Cot, so I followed up that path.

In the winter from Cop Cot, you can see a good distance, and I was able to see the coyote south of the playground.  It moved around a great deal.  It spent most of its time trying to stay away from people.  The coyote must enjoy 1 a.m. when the park is closed!

While I was keeping track of it, a woman stopped in the road with a confused look on her face.  There was a loose black Lab. which I thought was hers.  I said “Is that your dog?”  She said “No, but there is a dog without an owner over there.”  I said “That’s a coyote.”  She said, horrified, “Oh my God, it eats cats and dogs.  Do you want me to call 911?”  I said “No, the Parks Department already knows it’s here.” 

For at least five minutes, I kept asking myself who thinks there are pet cats in Central Park?  Did she think the wealthy on Central Park West and Fifth Avenue have their doorman put their cats out at night?

The Coyote was active early Monday evening, coming down to the north fence but retreating before even leaving Hallett.  The noise from the skating rink must have been too much for it.

Later in the evening, the Coyote played on the ice.  The Coyote made a few passes over the ice and at one point went onto the southern most path of the park.  Scared by some people it made a gigantic leap over the fences and shrubs to get back onto the ice.

Here are a few photographs from the evening and a very short slow motion clip.  This Coyote is hard to photograph in the dark!

The Central Park Coyote was hard to spot over the last few days.  On Friday, we only saw footprints in the fresh snow.  On Saturday, I didn’t see it.

On Sunday, I only saw it for only a few minutes.  It exited the hole in the northern section of the Hallett Nature Sanctuary fence and headed toward the west around 6:45 p.m.  The Coyote got spooked by some people, so it immediately came back to Hallett and then finally left for good about five minutes later.