coyote dispersal

[Red Fox]

Anyone have any thoughts on this. I have noticed in my area there seems to be a huntable population until about mid December then by the first of January there is basically none to be found. Alot of miles can be put on looking for tracks in the snow and no sign to be found. By the end of January there gets to be more activity. The howling gets more productive by mid Febuary. I have done some research on dispersal and seems to be a common cycle for coyotes but it is not mentioned much. Thought you guys that have seen more than me and could help me figure out the ones in my area.

[bucksnbears]

i am definatly seeing less coyotes in my area but am still seing alot of tracks. i don't really thing they would be dispersing unless there prey base has been depleated

[Prairie Ghost]

Are you looking at a dispersal issue or migration issue? Coyotes have been documented to migrate with large wintering herds of elk ect in the mountainous states. Dispersal in my opinion is a topic of the litter breaking up and heading out on their own. If that is the case the adults should still be there. December is a tough month to chase coyotes period they don't have much of a pattern and really suck back into their core areas and don't move much. If you aren't finding tracks where you previously had plenty you might want to look for the tucked back areas where they are most comfortable. A little locating in the summer during denning season should give you an idea of where those are. A group chasing with hounds or a trapper/snaremen hitting your area hard can have the same effect.

Hope this helps

[lyonch]

Theres so many opinions and factors that play into coyote dispersal, that it would take pages of explaining. I noticed in my area, that the houndsmen are just getting roling here wide open now, and they are putting up record numbers already. The coyotes are there and they are actually hitting what they are shooting at this year. When i talked to one of them last season he asked if i knew anyone that would allow him to run dogs through and i then i asked him how often he hits his own areas, and he stated about 2 times a year. So this year i told him to grab his best section he runs coyotes in and run it one time every week. Well i just found out this morning they ran that same section 2miles x 3miles and they have shot 12 dogs in 5 weeks out of it. He was just amazed the amount of coyotes he keeps seeing, and i told him that there are coyotes in the sections surrounding that one and they will keep filtering in (kind of like a dispersal). They will fill voids when the opportunity is there. I agree with brad about when you talk dispersal i think of the pups leaving the adults. Watch the local food source, as they have might moved to the local wintering grounds for the deer. They might have migrated to that area. When weather gets tough, it seems as though you hear more and more about coyotes packing up and territories seem to be non existent As jamie has said several times "the more i read, understand, and try to know about coyotes, the more i feel like i know nothing about them"

[TIKKA]

"the more i read, understand, and try to know about coyotes, the more i feel like i know nothing about them"

I agree and think this is an understatement.

[LeviM]

what kind of food source is available?

[Red Fox]

To answer the best I can. There could be something to the pups leaving. That is what I have been thinking but still not seeing mom or dad. I would feed into the hole up idea. The game is plentyiful in coyote terms. Pheasant, deer, coon, mice, rabbits are around. You can see the tracks and them from the drive also. I was also thinking the area I am in could be an over flow area that they filter into when the others are getting filled up twoard the end of breeding season. Your information is useful. Thank you, Dave

[barebackjack]

No coyotes were there once were coyotes?

Take your pick of reasons. The big two in my experience in my areas are out migrations following the food sources (to the cattle yards, deer yards, etc) and, this is a big one now that everybody and their mother is a "coyote hunter", theres just not nearly as many coyotes this time of year as there was in early fall.

[Prairie Ghost]

How big of an "area" are we talking?

[Dcoy]

Ditto to what Barebackjack said.Despite low or no fur prices,if you're in an area that has 'sectioned'or fairly accessible land,there are a hell of a lot less coyotes around compared to say,august or september.Yesterday I was in an area that I thought was virgin only to run into 2 snowshoe tracks and of course sno mo tracks.(and one yote track in 3 miles-despite deer and 2 groups of cattle)
Last weekend in NoDak a friend and I did something we've never done before-walked into a sectioned piece(3 by 4 miles)and when the smoke cleared we had 5.The weekend before,Pilgrim and I took 3 out of 2 different sections.
Fact is by this time of the year,a lot of the 'dispersal'is permanent.

[Red Fox]

The main area I hunt is about 6 miles by 5 miles. It is multiple land owner/farmers. It is is sectioned land and I have found that the area's nearby that have larger than the section mile square appear to be the summer spots. Wait and see..

[Coyotehunter]

once a good spot always a good spot................You don't have a true migration on whitetail herds in the plains states. A dispersal is more on the lines of movement of coyotes being coyotes with out well defined territorial lines. You will typically still have a breeding pair that will be within a given area, with nonbreeding, YOY that have not reached sexual matureity moving in and around the edges. 5x6 mile area may hold one breeding pair or it may have three............have you done any locating (siren, howling...) at night? This can get kind of tricky if you are trying to kill a specific pair...once you are down to just them. Then go back and clean out what moves back in. If you are only talking an area that is 5 miles by 6 miles then you can just blow them out of there with just the slightest bit of pressure. Left alone, in awhile they or someone else will move back in. If a coyote is in an area and you screw with him enough he will quite on you, pull stakes and run a line some where else untill things cool down. with the older ones at times this does not take much. A pinched toe or a couple of singed hairs............well they just start to get to be tough.

[Red Fox]

Thanks. I am awaiting to see what Febuary brings. I will let you know when they are showing up more.

[Tim Anderson]

Here is a general idea of what some of my coyotes are doing here in southern Mn..
Dureing the summer and fall i located groups or single coyotes and took note of locations, how many , and a guess of there age. ( young or adults and the deep voiced howlers)
The coyotes pretty much stayed in the same section most of the summer with a few that were just across the road from where i normaly would find them..
After deer season and alot of snow i went and located again to see what was there and where..
If a area like crp did'nt get filled in too much with snow the coyotes would still be there in same section as dureing the summer. (adults) The young wouldbe found in ajoining sections if there was enough food or cover and in some cases the YOY were still sticking together in small groups but away from the parents. As we hunted them most family groups were found with-in 3-4 miles of each other... Some coyotes roamed out a little farther than others, had two seperate pairs that covered a little more ground and never stayed in the same place from day to day, but still stayed in same genaral area just a little larger in size.. This may be due to alot of snow and not enough food for them.. Some of the pups i lost track of but if we took the coyotes out of some of the fill-in areas more would come in to replace the ones taken and could very well be the pups i lost...

We noticed something else this year with all the snow we had. We were finding coyotes laying out in the open in some hilly sections next to a hole just like the redfox do.. It took a little more planning and some good shooting but we got most of them...

[Red Fox]

After most of a month of nothing last week things turned on. Tracks in all the area"s and even saw 2 on the way to work friday. Went out last night and got some to howl a ways off to the north. My hunting buddy is an drives for work and had them show up in his area's last week also. Call it what you will but something changed last week.