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| Man in Black letting "Randy" the Roadrunner get to know him! |
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| Randy was very curious... |
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| And very photogenic!! Check out that spiky hairdo! |
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| Funny how sometimes Randy's spiky hair is up, and other times down. |
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Sunday, June 10, 2012
Geococcyx californianus, the Greater Roadrunner
What do you picture in your mind when you think of roadrunners? If you're anywhere close to my age, it's probably something like this. Blame it on Saturday morning cartoons!
Although the Roadrunner is called the "signature bird of the desert Southwest", we don't see them all that often in 29 Palms. When we do see them, they tend to be kind of skittish, and they are very fast, so quite the challenge from a photography point-of-view. So we were suprised to not only see a roadrunner last Sunday morning, but to see it on our patio! As we rushed for our cameras, my first thought was "why bother... he's going to be long gone"! But another surprise... he was hanging around and going right up to our sliding glass door as if he wanted to come in the house! At first we thought he might be injured, and then a really funny thing happened: Lap Dog Knits went out on the patio and the roadrunner headed straight for her! It was weird, and it kind of freaked her out. She surmised that this particular roadrunner must have been someone's pet, and that "someone" must have looked a lot like her!! We all had a good laugh... check out this post: A few suggestions... My wife named him "Randy" the Roadrunner.
We put out water and different kinds of food to attract Randy (bread... not interested; bird seed... not interested; fruit... no; meatball from last night's spaghetti dinner... bingo)!! As it turned out, food didn't seem necessary to attract this roadrunner. I think Randy would have come right in the house if we let him!
As we were getting ready to leave the desert last Sunday, Randy followed me around the yard as I was putting things away. At one point, I almost tripped over him because I didn't realize he had come up behind me! What a strange and fun experience, and hopefully we get another chance to see Randy the Roadrunner!
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that's AMAZING! i've got a post ready for tuesday of a family of roadrunners, but these pics blow mine right out of blogland! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I am super surprised Randy came so close. Someone must have fed it in the past. My neighbor in Yarnell had one hanging around and thought it very cool until she saw it snag one of the little seed eating birds that she feeds. She then chased it off for good. Did provide for some great photos.
ReplyDeleteI love your story about Randy. I had a roadrunner on my back deck about 5 years ago. He would sit there and look in the sliding door. I never thought to invite him in or share food with him:-)
ReplyDeleteRandy is very pretty, love your close ups!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool!!! What great shots!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome experience!
ReplyDeleteThese are great photos...it will be fun to see if he ever pays another visit...so glad we were there to enjoy the experience
ReplyDeleteCute bird... never seen one up close before! Thank you for sharing on Weekly Top Shot #34!
ReplyDeleteGreat close-ups of 'Randy'! Years ago, my hubby and I lived in Tucson and we had a roadrunner come right up to us the same way. I never thought to get a photo because we were so surprised. I love his spikey hairdo!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool experience. I've never seen a roadrunner before. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteOh wow...how neat!! Great shots♥
ReplyDeleteWow, that is just amazing! Real roadrunner? How cool is that? Great shots you were able to get. I hope you see him again one day.
ReplyDeleteYes, I too, am surprised you got up close and personal with "Randy". These are awesome shots...beep! beep!
ReplyDeleteClose encounters of the feathered kind.
ReplyDeleteThe Roadrunner is and amazing looking bird. I only recently discovered it's a real bird, not just a cartoon character. We don't have them in Australia.
ReplyDeleteThat last shot is really great. What a remarkable bird.
ReplyDeleteI always feel a bit uncomfortable taking pictures of birds that are clearly not completely wild - I do what you did in your post and make it clear that they may be just a little "tame".
Stewart M
First time seeing photo,s of a real roadrunner. Perhaps escaped from a set. Still thanks for showing.
ReplyDeleteWonderful shots of Randy.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen one, we don't have them here.
I remember the cartoon.
Thanks for sharing.
Mette
What a delightful visit and your photo's of 'Randy' are awesome!
ReplyDeleteThe Roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico and while I never seem to see them I have friends in other parts of the state who see them all the time, and have them visit.
Så vacker fågel...hos oss finns inte någon liknande!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots! Enjoyed my visit here!
ReplyDeleteHow fun is that! I'd love to know his story.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing at Your Sunday Best this week. xoxo
How amazing! That's a great story, and you got some fantastic shots!
ReplyDeleteIt does look friendly, and you got some amazing photos!
ReplyDeleteThe last shot is great! I love road runners, even though I've only seen one in person, from afar, running across the road . . . Fantastic post.
ReplyDeleteI am SO envious! My aunt had a mother roadrunner come visit her every morning, but the roadrunner wouldn't let her get close. She did see her carrying a lizard and then a snake. I've seen roadrunners with a snake. We used to have a pair in our neighborhood...they disappeared for a few years, but I just recently saw one of them (or its progeny!) One of them used to chase my little cat Daisy down the street! And, yes, our neighbors fed them raw hamburger!
ReplyDeleteWonderful captures of this famous bird :-)
ReplyDelete