Here in New Mexico, coyote are common. (But my folks in Maine see them there, too.) Coyote are one of the few animals to actually have expanded their range - which means they are strong, smart and adaptable.

However, I'm not sure that all the claims made of coyotes causing death and destruction are accurate, unless witnessed by someone who can actually ID a coyote. There are also a lot of dogs running around out there, some feral, some pets running loose.

Coyote are much less pack oriented than dogs/wolves (which is why you can't domesticate them). Coyotes running together are usually a family unit and the "pups" haven't taken off on their own yet.

I just picked up a pup out of coyote hunting stock. She comes from a line of greyhound/deerhound cross (with some pittbull and catahoula bred in from time to time). When I picked up my pup in July, her sire and dam had killed over 70 coyotes this year. They do what sighthounds do best, see the prey in the distance, run 'em down and kill 'em! I can't wait for the pup to get old enough to hunt coyote. Right now, she runs with my other dogs and chases them (and the jackrabbits, which seem to have disappeared).

Don't forget that coyote keep the rodent population down. Doubt they catch many birds, I would blame cats for that...