by Jim and Melanie
Chuck Jones
Our View From Iowa is not only about what we see. It is also about what we hear. Last night, while settling into bed, a distant emergency siren started to wail. Not far from our house is an interstate highway, fire and police stations, and a major university hospital system. The siren is a common sound. This time it was different.
Within seconds of the siren, a group of coyotes started to wail. There is a wooded area and open fields behind our house. Deer and turkey are common visitors. The coyote are less frequent visitors. But, we have heard them on several previous occasions. Sometimes, they run through within one or two hundred feet of our house yelping and whining to each other. It is always a treat to hear them. This audio sample is almost exactly as they sounded.
Our View From Iowa 
They are quite numerous here at the farm and treat us to a concert most every night. I love to hear them by I don’t like them preying on our cats and chickens. That’s what they sound like…love it when they “talk” to each other from different locations.
Not any chickens in our town city limits. But, there are cats that roam around at night. Most are brought in by their owners. Now and then, we hear them fighting. They’d better watch their step.
This was fun, but didn’t fool Chauncey the Airedale sleeping a couple of feet from us.
Sharon S
Chauncey may have been worn out from the day’s adventures.
We don’t hear them often, but when we do, it is distinct. And yes, it is fun.
That’s quite an impressive sound! My dog was fascinated!
That would have been fun to watch your dog’s reaction. Thanks for the chuckle about that.
We also hear coyotes howling in my neighborhood. They do come fairly close and I have heard them in the early morning when I let Murphy out. Because they are so close, we keep an eye on him at all times as there are occasional dog attacks by them.
Murphy paid no attention to the audio track. He never looks up when there is a howl on television either. I guess that he can tell the difference between real time and a recording. OTOH, we hate it when the TV gives off the sound of a doorbell.
That is one discriminating dog. Pretty funny.
I may have told you my balance-of-nature story. At one point, feral cats abounded around here. Then, we started hearing coyotes. I once surprised one trotting through our parking lot. After some time had passed, we didn’t see any more feral cats, and we didn’t hear the coyotes, either.
I just tested the clip on Dixie Rose, who was sound asleep here, next to me. She came to full attention in about two seconds, with that tail fluffed out. She was getting so agitated, I stopped the clip halfway through. Either cats are more sensitive than dogs, or less discriminating.
Interesting observations about the coyote/cat link. We have a lot fewer rabbits that a few years ago. Those populations will swing up and down over time.
A few years ago, I got up early by 5 am. I looked out front. Down the street appeared to be a dog trotting along the front lawns. It came to our yard and stopped to look around. Definitely a coyote. It proceeded and disappeared. Five minutes later it retraced its path and stopped again in our yard. I had camera in hand and was ready. Bam! The flash about blinded me. It wasn’t supposed to be on. Needless to say, nothing was visible on the picture except what looked like a nuclear explosion.
That’s quite the flashback, Jim.