Minooka woman’s coyote photo captures October Forest Preserve photo contest win

A coyote cruising through the brush won October’s portion of the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Preserve the Moment photo contest.

The photo was taken by Eileen Capodice of Minooka, who said she traveled to McKinley Woods in Channahon late one afternoon with her 12-year-old son to see if they could view any bald eagles.

Instead, she said she saw a “beautiful and healthy looking coyote” moving through the woods toward an opening in the grass. After capturing the coyote with her camera, Capodice said it continued to the clearing for a pre-hunting power nap.

Honorable mentions for the month were awarded to Tyler Keene of Plainfield for a landscape photo at Hammel Woods in Shorewood that highlights the site’s rich autumn colors; Tyler Paul of Wilmington for a determined Northern shoveler duck flying high in the sky at McKinley Woods; Toni Vandarakis of Joliet for a marbled orb weaver in all its pumpkin-colored glory chilling out at Hammel Woods; and Kim Baranowski of New Lenox for a shot of washed-out mammal bones resting on the forest floor near Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon.

View all the October photo contest entries at Flickr.com/WillCoForests.

For more information on the Preserve the Moment photo contest, visit ReconnectWithNature.org.