My wife discovered a pair of roadrunners in the local cemetery, in the middle of town, a week before Memorial Day. I have spent quite a bit of time with the birds, photographing and videoing them. The pair successfully nested, and 2 juveniles fledged this week. This is the first recorded nesting in our county, and is at least an hour or so north of the next closest recorded nesting. I captured this image this afternoon, of one of the fledgelings and an adult. I believe this to be the fledgeling who left the nest first, based on observing both juveniles Friday evening.
It has been a lot of fun this weekend watching my 6 year old enjoy the roadrunners, especially when she spots them first :). I wish the adult would have been facing the juvenile, but I suspect, like many parents, it was tired of dealing with a demanding child :). Shortly after this, I watched from a distance as the adult fed the juvenile; it was very interesting to watch the adult feed the juvenile, only to have the juvie drop the meal, and do this repeatedly several times.
Posted by Larry Daniel on July 25, 2010 at 1:25 PM
Way cool discovery, Rob. I didn't know roadrunners could be found that far north. I've never seen one out in the wild before. Nice shot. I hope you and your daughter have fun watching them grow.
What a wonderful experience to watch. I am envious.
Feeding fledglings is an endless and thankless task. No matter how much you give them they always demand more . . . or am I thinking about my children? At least fledgling Roadrunners do not have the sharp beaks of heron and egret chicks. Feeding the latter can be decidedly dangerous!
Post more if you can.
Posted by Brad Mangas on July 26, 2010 at 12:58 PM
Very cool Rob!
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on July 26, 2010 at 5:18 PM
Hey Rob, what a neat find. It's an added bonus that you were able to photograph them too.
The only roadrunners I've ever seen in the wild was on top of a mountain near Rod Kissinger's cabin in AR of all places. Thanks for sharing.
Love it, Rob. What a great find for starters, and what a fantastic job capturing this shot. Roadrunners move so quickly, I've never actually tried to photograph one. I look forward to seeing some more!
Discussion
7 repliesIt has been a lot of fun this weekend watching my 6 year old enjoy the roadrunners, especially when she spots them first :). I wish the adult would have been facing the juvenile, but I suspect, like many parents, it was tired of dealing with a demanding child :). Shortly after this, I watched from a distance as the adult fed the juvenile; it was very interesting to watch the adult feed the juvenile, only to have the juvie drop the meal, and do this repeatedly several times.
Feeding fledglings is an endless and thankless task. No matter how much you give them they always demand more . . . or am I thinking about my children? At least fledgling Roadrunners do not have the sharp beaks of heron and egret chicks. Feeding the latter can be decidedly dangerous!
Post more if you can.
The only roadrunners I've ever seen in the wild was on top of a mountain near Rod Kissinger's cabin in AR of all places. Thanks for sharing.