Coyote vs. Goldfinch

Coyote
Originally uploaded by ChathamGardens

One of the downsides of my new all windowed addition is that I have had several bird strikes. Even with my limited hearing, when a bird flies into one of the windows the sound is unmistakable and I can almost always differentiate between a bird with a bad headache vs. a fatality. I have witnessed a few fatalities and I recall one situation where, when I went back to look for the bird all that was left were feathers. Enough feathers that I was certain the bird did not recover and fly away.

Today, I heard that unmistakable sound of a bird fatality and when I went to investigate, I found that I was not the first on the scene. A lone coyote had lost no time in retrieving what appears to be a bright yellow goldfinch and having a late afternoon snack.

This picture, and the others that are available on my Flickr site by just clicking on this picture were all taken through my windows, some before I thought to take the screen out, too. So while picture quality is not great, you can still see a very healthy coyote enjoying his prize.