[Ansteorra] Ugly Duckling at Warlord

[niklas at pbgilbert.net]

Hi....

Road Runners, Chapperals, BEEP BEEP!!!

Geococcyx californianus,

"El Correcaminos"

Those are really cool birds.

They are the State Bird of New Mexico.

When we lived in West Texas in the 90-80's we had one that lived in our 
back pasture. Between the cats and "El Correcaminos", we had no problems 
with snakes or rodents.

They have been clocked as fast as 15-18 MPH and eat all kinds of vermin, 
insects and rodents.

Very unusual to see one in the area of the event. They don't like man much.

Hope he does well.

Take care...

Niklas






elizabeth at crouchet.com wrote:
> For those of you that disparaged my baby bird in morning court at Steppes Warlord, I just wanted to give you a follow up and a 
> progress report. 
> 
> That bird has grown and developed greatly, changing almost by the hour over that weekend. It turns out that it now stands 
> nearly a foot tall when it tries to. 
> 
> Obviously I was misinformed when this bird was identified as a baby Great Tailed Grackle. I can't tell how many times I was 
> instructed by my "friends" to kill it. 
> 
> Turns out it IS a baby Road Runner! It is protected though, not as all songbirds in Texas, but as a predator bird like all the 
> raptors as well (yes, including vultures). 
> 
> It is now in the hands of a Licensed Bird Rehabilitator. It is close to being too large to handle easily so it is in a good place now. 
> It is now eating pinky mice and someone else is feeding it twice an hour all day. Whew. 
> 
> Road runners eat large insects like grasshoppers that eat crops and small snakes, like baby rattle snakes. They also eat mice 
> that eat grain and deer feed and get inside your house. They fly rarely, they don't roost and don't mess up your car. 
> 
> I will get it back when it is grown so it can be released back where I found it. 
> 
> So all of you that told me to Kill It can just go, well, whatever. Aren't you all glad I didn't?
> 
> Thank you to those of you that DID show support either verbally or by supplying insects caught on site to feed it. 
> 
> Claire Shayhan
> 
> 
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> 
> 

-- 
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Paul Gilbert, KE5ZW              H.E. Niklas Vasilevich
niklas at pbgilbert.net       CB,CSM,KGA,OTR,ORH,Crane,AoA
936-714-3198 Cellular              Kingdom of Ansteorra

            Society for Creative Anachronism

     Texas Dept. Of Transportation, Radio Operations
      Austin, Texas                  512-506-5141
                pgilber at dot.state.tx.us

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