Roadrunner Sighting

by Donna Lewis

Boy was I amazed and lucky this afternoon!  I was talking to my sister on the phone and I looked out our southern facing windows.  I saw something dark on one of the metal fence posts.  So, I opened the curtains and there were two roadrunners, each sitting on a fence post!!

I hardly ever see them anymore, but to see two…WOW!

I went as fast as I could to get my camera. One bird was still there when I got back to the window.  Just as I started to focus my camera it jumped off the post, but I did get a photo.  So, I didn’t just imagine it.

You just don’t get to see things like this too often. It makes you feel so good.

The Peterson Field Guide (written in 2009) says these large birds are common. I don’t believe that is true nowadays. That is sad.

But this day, I was sure a happy camper.

By the way, roadrunners have unusual feet in that they have two toes forward and two toes backward.   I bet it’s hard to find shoes that fit. They eat caterpillars, insects, reptiles, other small birds and fruit. Pretty versatile in the food area.

And of course, they can run really fast.

Lucky me.

Hey, our blogger, Suna told me that she and her husband have seen more of them than usual this year, which is a good sign, for sure. They also enjoyed watching a very large jackrabbit bounding across a field near their property. We are always glad to see the wildlife that’s been dwindling around here when they make an appearance.