Do coyotes keep a pattern?

[Bills Custom Calls]

Just wondering do coyotes run in a pattern ,on the 1st of Jan I found a set of yote tracks in my driveway and tonight while I was on my way to do a set I found a set again . Guessing they came through before the snow last night from the looks of it.I was the first one out the drive this morning and no tracks in the snow. Should i  do some calling in my drive on the night of the 17th or 18th or don't they have a paticular pattern they run



Bill

[keekee]

I have never been able to get a for sure pattern on them. Sometimes I get a good general idea of how many days they move threw a certain part of there territory, but I have never been able to tell exactly when or were they would be in a certain spot.

When I ran a trap line, I had areas that with the snow on, I could get a good idea of how often they came threw. About every 2-3 days I would have sets worked in the area. Or I could see were they had come threw there by tracks in the snow. It was never certain though. Sometimes it might be 6 days later before they came back threw, sometimes the next night.

It always helps though to be able to get a good idea of how often they are in a certain area, and if I could put any type of pattern togeather I would give it a shot!


Brent

[Bills Custom Calls]

and by the way I didn't see anything tonight either





Bill

[zapper223]

                         I've had about the same results as Kee-kee. I know the travel lanes they use , as well as bedding , and at times feeding areas . But, when they're going to be using them , has always been , somewhat random. I've had my best luck , by hunting my areas the same way . I get in make a stand or two , drive to next area repeat. I have a couple spots that are used more frequently then others . But as far as a predictable pattern , not really. Though I have seen them stay in a general area for long periods . As long as a particular food source was present. And they weren't harrassed. Once the shooting starts all bets are off.

                                                                             Good-Luck,
                                                                                    zapper223

[vvarmitr]

I am sure that as a dog gets older (something I'm trying to eliminate) they get more of a routine/pattern.
My pondering on the idea is ... is their territory liken to an old wagon wheel w/ the denning area as the hub? Then their travels to the outer edge of their territory is the spokes. Is the denning area the as same as a bedding area? Do they really have bedding areas?  A bedding area to me being a place other than the den where the coyotes will lay up when they are in a certain area of their territory.  Or do they just lay down randomly in a spot they can feel secure in?

I'm not trying to argue w/ anyone on this, but would like to see more discussion on the subject. 

[KySongDog]

Real good questions, vvarmitr.  I'm all ears for the answers.   

[Jimmie in Ky]

I M O denning and bedding serve two totally diferent purposes at diferent times of year and are not usually the same. At least this is what I learned by keeping up with a couple of groups in my area through a couple of years.

Bedding is a place where they feel secure during th daylight hours and , depending on the size of their territory, may be centrally located , more or less. In large territories there may be two or more of these bedding areas located within the groups territory.  This is what I am looking for . This area may be a couple of square miles in size, depending on time of year and size of hte group. Dispersal of the pups is what I think causes this area to get a bit larger as the pups become more independant of the alpha pair.

Here is the good part. Dispersal can start in december and last until the mated pair sets up house in march. This is why we still find a fair number in an area at this time. They are not nescescarily depending on the adults, but stay in an area they know well .With time they move on out and set up territories of their own. This is why we will always have replacements for those that find a happier hunting ground  Jimmie

[vvarmitr]

So in your "IMO" you're saying that coyotes will travel  a few miles to bed down in a secure spot they are aware of? As opposed to taking the nearess spot were they can feel secure enough. Are they really bedding down to rest/sleep till time to hunt again? Or is it more of a nap & get up move explore/hunt, nap - explore, etc?
I've heard said that you can locate coyotes at night, but by daylight they may be 11miles away. Was this done w/ radio collared coyotes? Were they 11miles from there closest bedding area?

[Jimmie in Ky]

I wish I still had the links to the South Dakota study on territories and coyote travel. Then you would see that territory size is not that relavant to travel. In that study they stated that coyotes made the rounds of thier teritories each 24 hour period. Territory sizes averaged at that time, 25 square miles. This was done back when a coyote pelt brought some real cash! This one was done by real honest to goodness biologist's that had been on the job a few years. You might even still find some of his postings in the back pages at PM.

The 11 mile study every one keeps harping on was done by a grad student in cape cod Mass. of all places. Where they are not hunted or harassed by any one other than pet owners.One of these animals was trapped in a city park!! One even raised her litter under the front porch of a vacation home.,The house was only used a few times a year. If the Cape Cod newpapers still have the articles on archives you can see the pics for yourself. These territory sizes were averaged as well, some were as large as 14 square miles. These coyotes will also cover thier territory in a 24 hour period. The coyote population density is fairly high in the Cape Cod area.

Both of these studies were done with radio collars. the south dakota study was even used to find out just how far they would disperse. The south dakota study also showed erratic patterns of movement during both day and night.


Locating at night, especially later, gives you the drainage they call their territory. And yes, they may well be eleven miles away at daylight, just depends on the size of the territory. If you are doing the locating in the middle of the night, you are just finding the feeder feilds. Which can be valuable info if you check them out later. Back tracking th animals will give you the direction of bedding areas.

If you do your locating as close to sundown as possible, then you get answers closer to bedding areas or safety zones if that is what you wish to call them. I try not to go more than an hour past sundown mysellf, but have done it late at night just to keep from upsetting folks  There may be more than one of these safetey zones in a groups territory, again depending on the size of hte territory.

How much they move around depends on a lot of diferent things. Time of year, food availabilty, pressure from humans, the weather conditions at that time. By january through march the amount of food has dropped quite a bit. Throw in a sudden cold snap and you could have coyotes moving all day long around the clock looking for food to keep warm. Is it possible they get up move a bit for a snack, Yes. Are they going to expose themselves a lot to humans if they can help it, not likely. During the day they pretty well stick to this safety zone or bedding area because they are not likely to be disturbed in what ever they are doing. If disturbed they will move to another spot. I have seen pressure from humans cause this to change.

I haven't been able to do much hunting this winter. I have made four hunting trips with 11 setups done, and one trip just to scout new ground. Out of the 11 setups only four did not produce that I know of.11 coyotes have been called in. I do some scouting each time before the hunt itself to be sure I am looking in the right places. I do my locating after the day is done, right at sunset to an hour after. Next time in, I check the ground near the located groups to see if they are moving into th areas I heard them in. This is not to say that my next 11 setups will produce as well, probably won't, but at least I believe my odds will be much better by doing my homework. Confidence plays a big role in this sport. Anything you can do to build your confidence will raise the odds in your favor. It will keep you on stand longer and you will believe that each time you blow that call, something is going to show up. Jimmie

[Bills Custom Calls]

A Few years ago while I was working the strip mine we had 2 coyotes come in the work area and lay ontop of a big round bale of hay they stayed for 2 days on the same bale of hay then moved on and never seen in that area again they were seen about 1/2 mile away . I am loving the info coming through here Thanks guys.




Bill

[vvarmitr]

  Hmmmmm ... so if I stay on stand 24hrs I'll have a good chance at the coyotes of that area. :shck:

Thanks for that info Jimmie. Makes alot of sense!

[Jimmie in Ky]

Massachussettes banned traping by popular vote of the public in 1996. By 2000 they had thier first coyote attacks on children in th Cape Cod area. At the same time the grad student was doing his research. There was also some controversy when the federal government brought in ADC to clear the coyotes out of a refuge where some endangered birds nested, only some thing like eighty pairs of these birds left. Feds got what they wanted and needed to do in spite of 1000's protesting. It makes for some good reading if you can find it.

By 2002 beavers were endangering the water supply and major roadways in a fair amount of the estate as well. Massachusettes has been the poster child for trapping for a few years now when folks bother to look up the info and use it.Jimmie

[TA17rem]

Where i live i would say yes the coyotes will run the same pattern night after night give or take a few 100 yds. The only time i see this change is when the traffic in the area increases due to hunting or hunters out there kicking them up out of there safe areas, then they will change the pattern and hole up in a new area maybe 1/2 mile away... There was a study done here on the coyotes and most of them have a home range of five miles or less, depending on the amount of food.
If the coyote is forced out of one area he well set up a new route and it willbe the same everyday untill he is disturbed again..

[Jimmie in Ky]

Food is less of a factor than population density.  You can almost watch them change as numbers grow in an area. But a number of places in the east are getting to carrying capacity according to some of the latest studies. One for every half square mile. They do these studies by howl count over a number of months. I have a coppy of one done locally.
Jimmie

[wv_yoter]

If you do your locating as close to sundown as possible, then you get answers closer to bedding areas or safety zones if that is what you wish to call them. I try not to go more than an hour past sundown mysellf, but have done it late at night just to keep from upsetting folks  There may be more than one of these safetey zones in a groups territory, again depending on the size of hte territory.

Does this mean that hearing them within a couple of hours of sunrise that they may be close to their bedding areas ?

[onecoyote]

You guys well never figure it all out, that's because the coyotes haven't. They simply do what they have to do to servive. No real pattern for a coyote except eating and breeding.

[Bills Custom Calls]

Sounds like my kinda life :roflmao:

[Troy Walter]

bnccont where do you live that you got snow already man that would be nice.I live in Ohio and it is 90 today.

[Bills Custom Calls]

I live in Ohio also    Ya might want to look at the date this thread started    I think Jan 10 2007

[wv_yoter]

I know this thread is old but I didn't think I should start a new one to ask an old question. Sorry for the confusion, but I am still curious if anyone has an answer?