Residents in a suburban area of Halifax are slightly unnerved to hear of a coyote frequenting the neighborhood.

Nova Scotia's Department of Lands and Forestry is keeping tabs on the animal - and is advising residents to take measures to discourage it from coming around.

It's not unusual to see wildlife in the suburban community of Lower Sackville.

“It's nothing to see three or four deer, and groundhogs,” said Jo Ann Harpell.

But coyotes?

“No, no, not a coyote,” Harpell said.

Until now. While Harpell hasn't seen it yet -- she's seen photos of it and that's enough.

“It made me a little concerned once I saw them,” Harpell said. “I have a five-year-old granddaughter that likes to go outside and play, so we're watching for it, let's put it that way.”

The coyote was first spotted next door in her neighbour’s backyard -- the backyard of Halifax Regional Coun. Steve Craig.

He first saw the coyote here last week on Wednesday.

“And then it was there the following night, and then the following night,” Craig said.

Craig took photos, and shared them with his neighbours so they would be aware of what could be in their backyards.

Craig says he saw the coyote only about 10 feet away from his house, but it's been a few days now since it's made an appearance.

Craig called the Department of Lands and Forestry.

When they came to investigate, they did see tracks, leading right to bird feeders.

“They could find a trail, actually, that went from a few houses up, down to around our bird feeder, so the coyote at this time of year, is looking for food,” Craig said.

A video was taken in January 2017 of another coyote, also spotted in lower Sackville.

“They're pretty much everywhere,” said wildlife technician Butch Galvez. “This time of year there's sometimes not a lot of natural food for coyotes, so they can be very attracted to birdseed, apples, carrots and also the animals that that attracts.”

His advice? Get rid of feeders, and keep an eye on small pets.

And while most coyotes are more afraid of us then we are of them, if you do encounter one, you should follow this advice.

“Back away, act big, make noise,” Galvez said.

Craig plans to take down the feeders in his backyard to spare himself, and other residents, any more visits from this wild nocturnal neighbour.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Heidi Petracek.