Eastern Coyote Field School - Field Adventures
Since establishing my business, Eastern Coyote Research, I have been thinking of ways to improve public outreach as well as raise money to continue our research. Eastern Coyote Adventures attempts to do just that.
Do you want to experience actual field research on eastern coyotes?
Do you want to live like a coyote researcher by tracking coyotes and journaling their activities with me, Jon Way, in the suburban wilds of eastern Massachusetts?
This is more than just a guided tour of some of the wildest and most beautiful land that Cape Cod has to offer, but provides actual hands-on apprenticeship hours doing authentic research in an ongoing study of over ten years on eastern coyotes in Massachusetts. Depending on the time of year and our current research activities, you may handle and help to collar wild coyotes, view coyote families in the wild at their rendezvous sites during the dog days of summer, track coyote packs in the winter, monitor female coyotes and pups at their spring dens, and follow coyotes as they patrol their territories during fall.
Best of all, the reasonable fees for these authentic adventures are what help support our research on coyotes.
Eventually I will have the tracking schedules listed on this web site, but for now, if you are interested in joining one of our tracking teams, or helping support our eastern coyote research effort, please email me at: easterncoyoteresearch@yahoo.com for rates and availability dates of legitimate field research opportunities. Dates are negotiable, ranging from day trips and single-night tracking forays, to multiple-day and overnight adventures.
Pictures of possible activities include radio-collaring a coyote. Participants often record notes as I tend to handling and collaring the coyote (see below).
Testimony from previous trip participants:
February 2008
In February I spent three days with Dr. Jon Way as part of his coyote field research team. We were joined by Terry Hawthorne, who photographs wolves in Yellowstone National Park several times a year. I am a wildlife rehabilitator from Michigan. A wildlife rehabilitator is licensed by the state and takes injured, orphaned, and sick wildlife. I have become increasingly interested in coyotes, and travel to learn as much as I can about them. Working with Jon was an intense experience. I could not keep track in my mind of how many coyotes we saw at night. At times they seemed to materialize out of the earth's shadows, and now I truly understand why some people say they are like ghosts. But it was not a mystery to Jon! He knows where they sleep, he knows where they go, and he knows which way they are moving. From there he drove us to a location where we could see them passing, sometimes right in front of us as we sat in his truck. They never knew we were there as we were just another parked vehicle. They didn't pay any attention to us as the truck was off, the windows were rolled up, and we didn't move. We also saw a territorial display between two packs, which he tells about in detail in his “field updates” on this website. Sightings like these are usually rare unless you are in Yellowstone!
Terry and I agreed that it still would have been a great trip if we didn’t trap any coyotes. Capturing two was the icing on the cake! It was especially interesting to trap one that was injured (broken jaw). When we took him to the rehab facility I said to Jon, “We just stepped from your world into mine!” I got a quick tour of a Cape Cod wildlife rehabilitation clinic before my boss on this trip (i.e., Jon) had us on the run up to Boston where the second capture had taken place. If Dr. Jon had brought “Jaws” (what we named the injured coyote) to my facility I would have treated the injury the same way as the vet and rehabber did down on the Cape. I absolutely agreed, knowing what I know about coyotes, that it was imperative that Jaws get back out to his territory as soon as feasible. These critters are true survivors, but with the infection in his bone Jaws may have succumbed to a systemic infection. He is truly a lucky coyote! Treating him with surgery and antibiotics then a release as quickly as possible would have been my course of treatment also, and my vet agreed. Euthanasia was not an option! When Jon said that as we left the clinic, I knew we were on the same page with these most wild of our wildlife. I have had wild animals in my care that I released sooner than I would have preferred because, as Jon mentioned, they do get depressed and then we have other issues to treat. Their symptoms are the same as our symptoms.
It was neat watching Dr. Jon slip into teacher mode at the Boston veterinary clinic where we took Hood, the second captured coyote. We had a room of 10 people watching, which included clinic personnel and students. He explained to everyone about the collar and how it worked, about the coyote’s health, and how he took measurements.
Over the past handful of years we have learned a lot about coyotes because of people like Jon spending their lives studying them. If it wasn’t for his endless enthusiasm we would not know much about that species. Knowledge is what allays our fears of the unknown, no matter what subject we study. His work has allowed us to understand coyotes and their behavior instead of being afraid of them. I talk to a lot of people who misunderstand coyotes. These people learn to appreciate them when they have information about territory, pack size, and food habits. Jon is very respectful of the subjects he studies and strives to not interfere in their everyday/night activities so that he can glean accurate research statistics. He was insistent that we didn’t disturb them. The fact that Jon grew up in this area is a big asset as he knows where to go and how to get there as efficiently as possible to study his collared coyotes without affecting their behavior.
Jon asks if you want to live like a coyote researcher, and you will! The action was non-stop. The three of us chose to go morning, noon, and night, getting a few hours of sleep before heading back out before dawn. We all did fit a nap in the first day. We were too busy the second day to care about sleep or food! Like Terry said, “It’s going to take awhile to process all of this!” Jon is truly an outdoor enthusiast. He is also an ecologically-minded man and practices this in his everyday living. The fees to assist in his research were reasonable by anyone’s standards. You don’t have to be specifically interested in coyotes to enjoy this kind of adventure. Jon also respected our professions of wildlife rehabber and photographer. We felt like a part of his team, not like visitors. His wife and daughter showed us much hospitality, and we even met his mother and aunt. Dr. Jon Way is a regular kind of guy!
Jon, thank you for the opportunity to join you in your field study course. I had asked to join another researcher’s team before I found out about yours and he was resistant. You really want to share your knowledge of coyotes with others. Thank you for letting me indulge my interest in coyotes. Thank you for letting me voice my opinion when I was afraid that the vet was leaning toward euthanasia with Jaws! Thank you for letting me be a part of your team and your life’s mission. Thank you for planting the seed in my thoughts of a rural coyote study where I live. I have made a new friend.
Holly Hadac
Oxford, Michigan
Summer 2007
In late-August 2007, a very nice lady, Sue Stringfield from New Jersey, joined me on a 2-night, 3 day adventure. Here is what she had to say about the trip:
"Over the past 20 years I have caught fleeting glimpses of 5 or 6 live coyotes in my area of northern NJ (and have unfortunately seen a few dead ones along roads around here), but I wanted to learn more about these elusive animals. I found that Cape Cod is a great destination for coyote study as well as for whale-watching, seal-watching and bird-watching adventures
Perhaps you already know of biologist and coyote expert Dr. Jonathan Way and his book "Suburban Howls", but I just wanted to share my coyote field-study experience with all of you. A little more than a month ago, I participated in an exciting wildlife-watching adventure with Dr. Way. It was an action-packed 3 days/2 nights of intensive education and field observation of some of his radio-collared coyotes and their mates and offspring that inhabit the mid-Cape area
We covered much territory, driving to grassy airstrips, cranberry bogs, forested conservation lands, zipping along residential streets with the radio antennae's receiver directing us to the collared coyote. Once found, we occasionally had the fortune of also observing that coyote's mate/offspring. Our first night out (between 6 pm and 3 am) we observed at least a dozen different coyotes in our travels from the Mid-Cape Highway (Route 6) to the beaches around Hyannis Harbor.
Jon is incredibly skilled at pinpointing a coyote's location using radio telemetry! A few times a coyote came within 10' of us as we sat quietly observing from Jon's truck (note: windows were rolled up and we were silent so the coyote's could not hear nor smell us). The following day we spent hours with our scopes along the edge of a beautiful cranberry bog observing a pair, their four 4-month old pups and their yearling "helpers".
I learned a great deal about the social organization, diet and behavior of the eastern coyote in general, about interesting individual traits of some of his subjects, and much about Jon Way's tracking methods/radio-telemetry... While on Cape Cod I was able to spend some of my free time exploring other interesting places, visiting The Cape Cod National Seashore's beaches and biking/hiking trails around Eastham, learning about the rehabilitation of sea animals at The National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay, and bird-watching at TheWellfleet Bay Audubon Sanctuary.
And... I spent some of that free time viewing some of Jon Way's extensive collection of coyote videos.
Jonathan Way has recently published a comprehensive book (“Suburban Howls”) which documents his 10+ years of coyote research. Though the book contains a wealth of scientific information, Dr. Way writes as clearly as he speaks, making it a very enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book (which is available through his website).
I encourage anyone with an interest in nature and wildlife to visit Jon Way's website www.easterncoyoteresearch.com for more info. as it includes an order form for his terrific book, his scientific publications written over the years, and a schedule of his appearances and outings."
