How Much Is That Roadrunner In The Window?

One of our favorite characters in our courtyard zoo is our resident roadrunner.

When we came home yesterday, Tuesday, we heard this unusual sound. We realized it was our roadrunner.

You've all seen videos of kittens and puppies seeing their reflection in a mirror or window and wanting to play or fight with it?

Well, roadrunners evidently will do the same thing.

 

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Bunny on the Block

A couple of days ago, I bought a seed block for our ground feeding birds. The label called it a Quail and Dove Block, but the smaller print said it would also feed all ground feeding birds and mammals.

Our quail have found it and seem to like it. We haven't had any doves yet.

Sure enough, on Sunday our resident bunny, Peter Rabbit, found the block and there's no question he likes it. That's a good thing. If he fills up on this seed block maybe he won't be as hungry for Betty's plants.

 

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Look Out - Here He Comes!

We have a bird feeder in our courtyard that has two containers that we fill with sunflower seeds every day.

We get a lot of sparrows and finches that feed directly from the feeders and quail, doves and pigeons that feed on the ground.

About every 2 to 4 days the birds will suddenly explode from our courtyard and disappear - not one bird will be left. We know that can mean only one thing - the bad guy is in the area.

As soon as a hawk - either a Coopers Hawk or a Red-Tail - comes anywhere near our house, all the birds know it and take off for other parts. Probably smart as we've seen him catch a couple of doves over the years and even pluck and eat one in our courtyard.

If I was a bird I would probably get the heck out of Dodge, too.

 

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Coyote Snacks

It's that time of the year all of our coyotes look forward to - quail hatchlings.

We always have a bunch of hatchlings each year - 8 to 15 hatchlings to each quail pair. To our coyotes these little guys are just snacks and the number slowly goes down to where sometimes we'll see a quail pair with only one or two hatchlings following them around.

Yet, enough survive each year because we still have a lot of quail in our area.

It's hard to catch these little guys on film as they move around so fast and never stay in one place very long. So, I set up my tripod and camera and caught a few short clips over a period of days.

Enjoy.

 

 

Laid Back Rabbit

When our house was first built eight years ago, the wildlife in the area - coyotes, jack rabbits and bunnies - were all really wary of humans. They would run away at the first sight of us.

Now, several generations have been born and raised around us and it's clear they are less wary than their grandparents and great-grandparents.

An example is yesterday when I went out to clean up the horses' manure. there was a bunny resting in the shade of our new sun shade we recently got for the horses.

Even though I was working just 15 or so feet from him and Morgunn was watching him even closer, the bunny was relaxed and even looked as if he was going to sleep.

Eventually Morgunn got really curious and walked toward him to smell him out and that was a little more than our bunny could handle and he sauntered off.

Antelope Squirrels At Play

(Our new header is our son, Wade Daniel, daughter-in-law, Marie, and granddaughters, Juliet and Leah in Estes Park, Colorado. They live in Fort Collins, Colorado.)

Each Spring, we have two or three new, baby Antelope Squirrels. They were out this past week and I got some video of them at play.

Enjoy.

 

Mama Mia

If you’re a long time reader of our blog, you may remember Simone, our resident Roadrunner, who lived one winter in our stable several years ago.

Last year, she built a nest in our Cottonwood, but we don’t know if she had any baby Simones.  Well, she’s back in the nest in the Cottonwood again this year.

We’ll see if she has any babies this year.

Another Courtyard Drama

We had another drama in our courtyard this past Sunday.  In fact, it occurred right outside our windows while we watched.  My camera wasn’t set for action so some of the pictures in the video below are blurred, but you will get the idea.