Coyotes Are Coming. The East End Should Take Note.

You might not have seen one yet, but someone you know probably has. A shadow at the edge of a field. A bush rustling near the golf course. Something caught on a Ring camera. Coyotes are creeping east across Long Island, and the days of saying “that’s just a Nassau problem” are numbered.

The first confirmed sighting on the Island happened in 2009. Since then, the population has been growing slowly but steadily. Most of the activity so far has been west of Riverhead. But biologists and trackers are clear: it’s only a matter of time before coyotes reach the Hamptons. Some say it’s already happening.

What does that mean for a place like Westhampton Beach? For one, pet owners should be paying attention. These aren’t cartoonish, howling desert creatures. They’re adaptable, sharp, and surprisingly stealthy. They eat rabbits, squirrels, berries, garbage—whatever’s easy. Sometimes that includes small pets. People with outdoor cats, backyard chickens, or toy breeds might want to adjust routines. Don't panic. Just adjust.

And this isn’t a doomsday scenario. Coyotes avoid people when they can. They're not out looking for a fight. What’s really happening is a shift in how the East End thinks about the natural world. For decades, nature here has been framed as decorative—boxwoods trimmed to perfection, deer gently grazing in the dusk. The return of a mid-sized predator messes with that image a bit.

But nature doesn’t care much for curated aesthetics. Coyotes are showing up because we’ve made it easy. There’s food. There’s space. There’s not much standing in their way. And they’re good at slipping through the cracks—navigating wooded corridors, storm drains, even beach paths, mostly unnoticed.

Some towns are already starting to prepare. There’s talk of signage, public awareness campaigns, maybe school programming. It’s not about trapping or removing them. That rarely works long-term. It’s more about education. Knowing what to do if you see one. Understanding their role in the ecosystem. Learning how to “haze” them—yell, wave, make noise—if they get too comfortable.

Homeowners might start seeing changes in how people build or landscape. Fewer compost piles. Tighter fencing. Covered trash bins. Some folks are installing motion lights or trail cams to keep an eye on their property. And there’s an argument to be made that, in an area dealing with an overabundance of deer and groundhogs, having a natural predator isn’t the worst thing.

Still, it’s a cultural shift. The idea that something wild is watching from the tree line isn’t part of the typical Hamptons brochure. But maybe it should be. After all, this is still a place shaped by water, wind, and woods. Coyotes are just the latest reminder that the land was never really tamed.

So, what should people do? Keep pets indoors at night. Secure trash. Don’t feed wildlife, even unintentionally. And if a coyote crosses your path? Be loud. Be big. Let it know it’s not welcome near people. They get the message pretty quickly.

The coyotes are coming. Slowly. Quietly. But surely. And the smarter we are about living with them, the less disruption they’ll cause. This isn’t about fear. It’s about paying attention—to what’s moving at the edge of our properties, and what that means about the changing rhythms of life on the East End.