One of my walking buddies

Road Runner in cartoons always runs along side whatever Coyote is driving or flying in an attempt to catch Road Runner. I always thought that was just the cartoon version of Road Runner life. After living in the Southwest and seeing all number of Road Runners, I can say they are very quick to adapt birds.

There is one Road Runner at my work who knows if my truck leaves in the morning, there will be something for it to eat when my truck comes back. It learned this lesson in three weeks! On the third week it was right by the curb where I park, waiting. One Road Runner and two juvenile Crows waiting for free food. Smart birds they are. Probably going to die from tator tot poisoning, but smart birds!

As I walk down walking paths I normally hear, then spot one Road Runner, and sometimes two, following about twenty feet to side depending on where they were I am walking. Usually I hear them before I see them because they blend in with their surroundings so well. When they see me look in their direction they freeze and become a shrub, small rock, or tuft of grass. Feather covered southwestern Ninjas they are, masters of camouflage.

Some Joggers never see or hear Road Runners. Road Runners follow the joggers for short distances then stop. Road Runners can move quickly when they need too, but I think joggers move a little too fast to suit their needs. It makes me sad because some of the joggers never hear, or see these stealthy little birds. I also believe they miss out on a lot more in their life other than seeing a road runner or two on the walking paths.

I hear some joggers approaching me from behind when they are thirty or forty feet away! Not the noise their clothing or shoes make on the path, but the noise coming from the earphones of their mp3 players! I can not imagine how bad their hearing must be for me to hear them from so far away and it is a comfortable noise level for them!

What must they miss out on in their day to day life? Can they hear their lover’s contented sigh? Can they hear their children laughing? Can they hear someone softly call their name? It does not seem likely to me. I think of the damage they are doing to their hearing as ‘runners quandary’. They have a great set of lungs. They have great cardiovascular systems. They can run like the wind, clipping off the miles, never becoming short of breath. But they can not hear their feet hitting the pavement, or the sound of their breath through their own ears.

I thought the Road Runner’s running along side was only in cartoons. Watching Road Runners walking alongside and some feet from me, I thought they were stalking me! Especially when they were in pairs. One Road Runner on the right in plain sight, and the other off to the left and being careful to stay quiet and hidden. In a flash of insight I realized what they are really doing.

When Road Runner’s run off to the side and a little behind they are using my movement to stir up food for themselves. By that I mean by staying off to the side and a little back, Road Runners hope I scare a mouse, lizard, or edible insect out of hiding. Once I flush it out of hiding , it is an easy meal for the Road Runner. As I said they are very smart birds. They even know to stay away from the children who sometimes throw rocks at them. I wonder if they also use their hearing while hunting?