Greater Roadrunner - Bosque del Apache NWR, Nov. 2015
/Greater Roadrunners are not uncommon in southwestern U.S. but their range does not extend to the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico where I have done most of my birding. I still get an adrenaline rush when I think I might be able to see the image of one in the viewfinder of my camera.
On a visit to Bosque del Apache NWR in November of 2015 I saw the head of a roadrunner in the weeds while slowly driving down the marsh loop road. The bird was on the passenger's seat side of the car. I have difficulty keeping the lens steady when taking shots through the window on the passenger side because I must assume a position that is awkward for supporting the 8.6 lb lens. If the bird is on the driver's side, I use a bean bag on the window to support the lens and can acquire much sharper images. Thus, I noted the location, continued driving until I was well out of view of the bird, turned the car around, waited a few minutes and slowly drove back to the area where I had seen the roadrunner. The bird was still in the weeds but now I had a full view with no major obstructions and took a number of shots from the car while I was (optically) fairly close to the bird.
Click on the images to see a larger version.
Greater Roadrunner, Bosque del Apache NWR, Nov. 2015
Nikon D4 camera, 500mm f/4 lens + 1.7x teleconverter
1/2500 sec at f/11, ISO 1400
After I had several shots, I drove away, turned around again and drove back until the bird came into view, stopped the car, turned off the motor and watched. The bird walked into the middle of the road, returned to the weeds when another car drove past, but then returned to the middle of the road.
Greater Roadrunner, Bosque del Apache NWR, Nov. 2015
Nikon D4 camera, 500mm f/4 lens + 1.7x teleconverter
1/3200 sec at f/13, ISO 1800
While standing in the middle of the road, the bird looked for traffic in both directions, as it was taught to do by it's mother, and then took a dust bath. Saturating themselves with dust is the way some birds actively maintain their plumage. Experiments with quail indicate that dusting helps in the maintainence of an optimal amount of oil on the feathers. If prevented from dusting the quail's feathers become oily and matted. Information about dusting found on the Birds of Stanford web page.
web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/BofSindex.html
Greater Roadrunner, Bosque del Apache NWR, Nov. 2015