Rare sight - Roadrunner

[Griff]

Well rare as far as my backyard is concerned!

Drove up into the driveway yesterday after shoppin', and found a roadrunner in the driveway... couldn't reach my camera or phone before he disappeared into my back pasture! Today, the same... but, he stuck around a little.

He'd just run under the gate and stopped to look as I slowly opened my p/u door and had my camera phone at the ready. He's just barely visible in the retangle of the gate between the trailer and brush.

He then turned and ran a few steps behind some brush, where I couldn't see him. After workin' my way up to the right of my trailer, I got another view of him:


He's in the upper right retangle in the gate, almost obscured by the weeds I call "native pasture".

Blown up:

[86er]

That's pretty cool! We've always had some on our property 35 miles NE of here, but recently I noticed a few around (on Rochelle) here and there much closer to home. First time in the 6 yrs I've been here that we see them close to home. What do you do to keep them around? I mean besides killing Wylie Coyote?

[vancelw]

I have some next to the house. They like the brush and briars that they can hide in from predators. Got a few bobwhite, too. Same reason.

[Mescalero]

At my place in N.M. they come up to the house.
It is quite entertaining as they ( I assume ) can see thier reflection in the sliding glass door.
They then engage in a mating ritual ( I assume ) dance and will carry on for a long while, it is fun and funny to sit and watch them.

[jkbrea]

In Palm Springs my mom used to feed one while she would be cooking. It got to where this roadrunner would be at the back kitchen door making these loud clicking noises until she opened the door to feed it. It was partial to raw hamburger. One day it showed up with a partner. This went on for quite some time. They are fun to watch.

[bdhold]

there was a rebar rooster tomato stake in our front yard for awhile. I didn't think it looked like much, but a roadrunner must have liked it - or fallen in love with it - and came to visit it every day.

In Caprock Canyons State Park, the roadrunners are tame, hang out in your campground, and dart between your legs - never seen anything like it before

[gak]

Coolest bird around. We have a fair number of them in Arizona. (I think NM beat us to the "state bird" honors, so ours is the cactus wren!) They are fun to watch and do seem to race along the highway with the cars. Years ago I saw a roadrunner take on a good sized rattler. No problem. Liked 'em a lot before. Loved 'em a lot after seeing that!

[J Miller]

I haven't seen a Roadrunner since moving to Ill. Oh, right, they don't live here ....


Hey Griff, can I borrow your horse trailer? Don't look like you use it much.

Joe

[Nath]

Lol


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwYQsZuh2CM

N.

[Griff]

I haven't seen a Roadrunner since moving to Ill. Oh, right, they don't live here ....
Hey Griff, can I borrow your horse trailer? Don't look like you use it much.
Joe

Once a year to get the girls to the vet... Used to use it a LOT. Not so much anymore. No brakes on it... and anything inside is likely to get wet if it rains.

[rangerider7]

They also eat quail and quail eggs. I have seen them do it many times. Coons and Skunks are hard on quail as well as yotes obviously. RR7

[J35]

That's pretty cool! We've always had some on our property 35 miles NE of here, but recently I noticed a few around (on Rochelle) here and there much closer to home. First time in the 6 yrs I've been here that we see them close to home. What do you do to keep them around? I mean besides killing Wylie Coyote?

They love baby Quail, Lizards, snakes, and those big green giant size grasshopper's.

If you have plenty of those you will have plenty of Roadrunner's.

---J

[mack]

Do they really go "Beep, Beep"??

[vancelw]

Do they really go "Beep, Beep"??

Only when you salt their tail.

[mack]

I'd swap ya a shag and 2 s*** pokes, just to see one in the wild!

[Marc]

Last deer season we were watching 4 or 5 does and fawns down on a little ridge to see if a buck would join them. Sure enough one of the does started watching down the ridge. It wasn't a buck! I saw something small with a long tail pass the doe. She followed it up the hill a ways. It got in the open and it was a road runner. A little later the deer were moving off the ridge toward us so I put the binoculars on them again and they were following the roadrunner! I don't know what the fascination was but it was funny to see!

I saw one on the road last week.

[Mescalero]

They are real cool, have good personalities.
I talk to them and many times they turn thier heads as if they are listening.

[m.wun]

They will wipeout quail and pheasant nests pretty fast and wouldn't doubt if they will raid turkey eggs too.They are neat birds but
I have heard they are going into areas were they never had them.Just the same as armadillos.

[Blaine]

That is NOT a roadrunner.....I"ve SEEN roadrunners every saturday morning for over 60 years.....

[Mescalero]

[rangerider7]

I have four that roam my back yard at the lake. One is the size of a chicken. I don't care for them on the ranch but they are protected, so are the Caracara. RR7

P.S. Quail taste great, I'm not sure about Roadrunner or Caracara.

[chadbr]

I have them all over the place down in South TX. They kill all the birds we're trying hunt...

[Pop Watts]

Sorry to ask but I do live in Australia and have absolutely no idea - so, how big is a Roadrunner? The pics make him look smaller than I imagined, but I have only got a certain cartoon to base my assumptions on.
I laugh when people come to Australia and expect to see Kangaroos jumping around Pitt St in Sydney, so now my dear American brothers, it is time to laugh at me because I always thought a Roadrunner was the size of an Emu, but it looks more like the size of a Curlew.
Help me out by not letting me embarras myself any further.
Pop

[Mescalero]

body is smaller than a chicken, but he is taller because of his legs.

[olyinaz]

body is smaller than a chicken, but he is taller because of his legs.

Bingo.

They sit still sometimes too, but not often!

[vancelw]

body is smaller than a chicken, but he is taller because of his legs.

I was gonna say pheasant sized, but leaner

[horsesoldier03]

They also eat quail and quail eggs. I have seen them do it many times. Coons and Skunks are hard on quail as well as yotes obviously. RR7

I havent seen one of those in a few years.

I never thought much about what all they eat, I just assumed it was ACME BIRD SEED!

[Mescalero]

Have you ever seen the skeletal head of a lizard or horned toad impaled on a spanish dagger?

[Rusty]

Sorry to ask but I do live in Australia and have absolutely no idea - so, how big is a Roadrunner? The pics make him look smaller than I imagined, but I have only got a certain cartoon to base my assumptions on.
I laugh when people come to Australia and expect to see Kangaroos jumping around Pitt St in Sydney, so now my dear American brothers, it is time to laugh at me because I always thought a Roadrunner was the size of an Emu, but it looks more like the size of a Curlew.
Help me out by not letting me embarras myself any further.
Pop

That's OK Pop I was looking for a Dodge.

[olyinaz]

Have you ever seen the skeletal head of a lizard or horned toad impaled on a spanish dagger?

No, but I've seen bugs skewered on cactus spikes.

[GonnePhishin]

Griff,
Pretty cool pictures. I 've never seen one except on Saturday mornings when I was a kid. Let us know when you get to take a picture of...