Minooka Woman’s Coyote Photo Captures October Forest Preserve Photo Contest Win

File:Minooka resident Eileen Capodice won October’s portion of the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Preserve the Moment photo contest with this picture of a coyote at McKinley Woods in Channahon. Two more monthly winners will be chosen before the contest concludes on Dec. 31 and overall winners will be picked in January. (Photo courtesy of Eileen Capodice)

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.

“It was just a cool nature moment to witness, and I was glad to enjoy the moment with my son,” she said.

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.

All of October’s photo contest entries can be viewed on the Forest Preserve District’s Flickr page, Flickr.com/WillCoForests.

Capodice is the sixth monthly winner in the 2020 photo contest. Only two more monthly winners will be chosen by a panel of judges before the contest concludes December 31. In January, all eight monthly winners will vie for top honors via public voting on the District’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/WillCoForests.

Monthly photo contest winners receive $75 gift cards. Overall winners chosen in January will receive MasterCard gift cards worth $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $150 for third place. The photo contest is sponsored by The Nature Foundation of Will County, willcountynature.org.

Photos must be taken by amateur photographers ages 18 or older, and they must be snapped in a Will County forest preserve after the May 1 contest start date. Please read all photo contest rules at ReconnectWithNature.org and photo upload instructions before entering the contest.