Dying coyote and several birds on Lee Vining Creek

Dying coyote and several birds on Lee Vining Creek

From: Chris McCreedy
Sighting_Date: saturday
Remote Name: 209.221.205.174
Date: 02 Oct 2004
Time: 18:27:13 -0400

Comments

I flushed a coyote that had chosen to die under a young lodgelpole pine in the Lee Vining Delta. It walked a few feet and collapsed in the water of a side channel. It nearly let itself slip under water after a few minutes, then managed to gather itself and make one last try for the grass of the opposite bank. It crawled half way up and collapsed again. I returned later to put her back under her tree, but she was still alive. But she was hardly aware of me. Nothing seemed wrong with her. The Mono public health officer ssid that he had never heard of a coyote contracting West Nile Virus, but that he figured it was possible. She did not seem to be starving. I did not see any wounds on her. It was one of the saddest and most beautiful things I have ever seen. I saw several late birds today: a Northern Mockingbird (adult, or hatch year out of juvenile feathers), a Sage Thrasher, a Yellow Warbler, a Warbling Vireo, a Vesper Sparrow. An American Crow was around for most of the morning. Probably more Common Yellowthroats than I have ever seen in one day on a Mono tributary.

Last Updated August 09, 2007