Alone on the Shore

Nothing was happening.

I had come here because I’d seen a bald eagle headed this way. This part of the river is an area where I knew a pair of eagles had often been seen. Of course, I knew I wasn’t going to beat the eagle to the river. It could fly directly over the landscape while I had to take the longer route along winding roads. Still, I was hoping the eagle might pause along the riverbank long enough that I might get a photo. But, no. Only Canadian geese and a spattering of mallards to be seen.

I sat on the shore and waited. (Hope springs eternal for a nature photographer.) I got discouraged trying to anticipate where the few fish might rise to snag a bug. I moved upstream a bit and sat in view of the feeding gees and ducks, taking far too many pictures of bobbing duck butts. Still I sat. I didn’t have to be anywhere for an hour. I listened to the wind. I wondered how many leaves had fallen among the stones. A few thousand? Tens of thousands? As I watched the clouds and imagined animals, I noticed a movement to my right: a coyote with its nose to the ground, trotting towards me.

The coyote sniffed the air, looked at me, and was unimpressed. It continued to follow the shore, ignoring me completely. How amazing is that? It’s awesome and humbling to have a wild animal acknowledge your presence and then consider you irrelevant.

For about ten minutes, I was alone with the coyote. I watched it approach and then backtrack upstream to find a spot to swim across the river. The ducks and geese honked and squawked but never took to the air. The coyote moved in the grass, left footprints in the mud, and moved steadily and silently. I remembered to stop taking pictures so I could be present. I might have held my breath for a minute, then another.

Other people arrived just as the coyote was disappearing along an bend in the river. The silence was broken, the Magic was over, but the Gift had already been given.

With gratitude to the Coyote. Many thanks.

All website and blog photos ©Vivien Zepf. No use without prior written permission. All photos taken using ethical photo practices, at safe distances with zoom lens.