Meep-Meep Goes Full Glam~

DSC09932

Meep-Meep has had it!
DSC09909

He is tired of the cat and mouse game.
DSC09899

He wants his close-ups damn-it!
DSC09900
He doesn’t understand why I take photos of all these lesser Holler birdies, when I have him to chase and catch a glimpse of.
DSC09916

So he just decided to show us all what we’ve been missing.
DSC09929
You have to admit he is one glam bird, he has a moveable mohawk!
DSC09920

I had been hearing this coyote pup cry early every morning, so I went in search of the abandoned pup, and this is who I found, the roadrunner making a completely credible repetitive coyote cry. I answered his cry and we had a morning symphony. His cry is like the second clip in the following link which gives some, but not all of the amazing vocalizations of these fascinating birds.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Roadrunner/sounds

We have several groups of roadrunners living inside our fences at The Holler and we interact with, and hear them everyday. A guest kept telling us about hearing growling outside his window at night which alarmed him enough to close the window, and yep that was roadrunners too. They also bark, and make a whirring noise. I imagine they imitate coyotes to confuse them, smart meepers!

Cheers to you from The Holler’s communicative and highly entertaining Meep-Meeps~

290 thoughts on “Meep-Meep Goes Full Glam~

    1. I think your right! It clearly would deter a lot of animals in their ecosystem if they thought coyotes were around, even coyotes, who can by shy of other packs. They are also smart to live inside our fences eating all our lizards and watching us through the windows. I’m sure we are interesting for them to watch, gives them some variety outside of lizards and snakes. I do think they are hobbyist people watchers, especially when we sleep and when my husband eats breakfast, only when they think we can’t see them. Maybe they are just feathered dinosaurs, wishing we were small enough to eat.

      1. They don’t just eat snakes, they eat rattlesnakes! The Holler rattlers come out of winter hibernation in March with all their little baby rattlers. The Meepers ignore the lizards for awhile. I have seen one run with a half digested rattler hanging out their beak. Check this out, but not before bedtime if you don’t like snakes:

  1. I adore roadrunners and have always only watched them but never been around them long enough to know what wonderful vocalizers they are…It was interesting to hear their various calls on the links you provided…..like the loons, here in my neck of the woods, they have a most interesting repertoire!

    1. Oh I didn’t think of this. Of course, that is why he was so high and mighty, thinking, “silly human, I fooled her!”
      As a matter of fact this same thing is happening right now. It is night and the male Great Horned Owl is doing his nightly territorial coo. I thought it was a friendly greeting, so I have been answering back. I just looked it up and learned responding in kind invites conflict which is why he flew so low to my head a few nights back.
      Really, the poor birds have to deal with such a daft human. He’s cooing happily now and I won’t answer. He vanquished the silly human.

  2. Gosh, he’s such a handsome fellow. I’ve never seen, and never will see one in the flesh, err, feathers, so I’ve been ogling the photos for a while.

    1. I ogle them constantly, and visa versa! They are incredibly fascinating, adaptive birds, with such curiousity about us, the interlopers in their territory. They can kill rattlesnakes. Any new thing we put outside, they run all over and investigate as if approving. They nest in the bushes by our windows and we get to see the babies when they are old enough to be out and about. They are just wonderful little dino-birds.

      1. Yes, like some evolutionary species where a few must have flown away during the extinction(s). I hope this might be what birds are. They are always above us, even the ones that live on the ground.

  3. meep-meep, ha! Brings back fond memories of Saturday morning cartoons. Which I still laugh at sometimes if I’m channel surfing and hit on one. You always share the most amazing photo’s and stories. Seems dicey walking around looking for a coyote, let alone where early rising rattlers may be waiting for a mis-step. With my clumsy luck, I’d be sure to find one. Interesting that they mimic so many different animals, I didn’t know this. Mind you, Saturday morning cartoons are not the best way to learn about such things I suppose. Cheers dear and Happy Valentine’s ! xB

    1. Right, the cartoons wern’t that factual were they. I have never seen the coyotes winch up an acme safe waiting for the roadrunner to cross the path for example. Of course, just because I have never seen it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.
      Have a great weekend my friend~

  4. Yes, Meep-Meep is one magnificent, photogenic roadrunner alright! I just love the mohawk and splash of color behind his eyes. So debonair and distinguished!

    1. Proud and tough as nails. My son and I once followed a roadrunner who was pecking and chasing a 6 ft gopher snake. The snake was out of his mind terrified. Our following interrupted the assault, but I always wondered how the roadrunner whould have eaten that snake!

  5. Great shots. I was once on the phone to a colleague in New Mexico, and he said, ‘I need to phone you back. There’s a roadrunner stuck in the back porch somehow.’ I syggested he simply painted a tunnel on the porch wall.

    1. That is probably precisely what he did, but sadly, it wouldn’t fool the roadrunner! 😉 I was hoping I might hear from you because I know you like the meeping ones. So glad you stopped by and Happy Valentines Day!

  6. This was such a wonderful gift since the only roadrunner I had seen besides in the Sat morning kind were drawings. I may be wrong but they were by Audubon himself. His were beautiful but yours were the real deal, Cindy! Such a funny, smart, “evolved” bird! I would be like you taking photos and talking to him in his or her language! ♡♡ Enjoy your Valentine’s day weekend, Cindy!

  7. All I can see out my window right now is winter white so meep meep is a beautiful sight indeed. I love the ingenuity of the animal world. Catbirds get me all of the time. They like to land behind me in the woods and “meow”. I should know by now that it will be a catbird rather than a kitty cat but I guess I am a silly human too.

  8. What a gem of a bird…you are so fortunate to have these fascinating creatures nearby. Thanks for bringing sunshine to my day, birds do it every time. My backyard Disneyland of aviaries are frantically feeding. Temps are to be single digits.

  9. I’m way late here, Cindy, sorry–but I have to add my compliments to the others’. I never realized what an array of vocalizations these guys are capable of, and what a great opportunity for your portrait shots! And movable mohawk, too–in your first shot it looks like he’s lost part of his head!

    1. Yes, it does look like a bit of brain might be missing, because the bright blue skin matches the sky! I think maybe dinos were blue and he is just a surviving little dinosaur! Thanks for stopping by~

    1. I have actually never seen a coyote chasing a roadrunner, which doesn’t meant it doesn’t happen, but I agree with you, what’s the point? He’s such a skinny little dinosaur! Be well Wally~ <3

  10. Great glam shots of this fascinating bird and I learn a lot from your posts too. How kind that you went looking to help the coyote pup and lucky that you found a mimic instead😊

    1. Coyotes do abandon pups some times and they cry and hang around, but I have never seen one that wasn’t old enough to eventually get the hang of things, still if I did find one too young, I couldn’t let it starve. I would call Project Wildlife.

    1. So glad you enjoyed and you are right, unlike coyotes who you may well find in an urban area, roadrunners are strictly creatures of the country, where they like to rule the roost!

    1. Wow, that camping trip sounds epic! I have never seen as many concentrated numbers of roadrunners as we have at The Holler, and of course, I love this. Happy Valentines Day Eunice! <3

  11. Lovely preening photos.Went on to the link: Loved this description; “As they run, they hold their lean frames nearly parallel to the ground and rudder with their long tails.” I couldn’t get the calls though , which is a shame – probably my PC.jx

    1. Oh dear, I’m sorry. That is a perfectly accurate description of how they run. They move like lightening but their upper body is perfectly stable, just like in the cartoon where the speed was depicted with racing train wheels for legs!

    1. I should be charging the meeper some sort of agent fees shouldn’ t I? I just can’t imagine him going along with it, but it is a matter of principal…..in more ways than one!

  12. So much fun to see roadrunners up close. The only roadrunner I’ve ever seen whizzed by on the cartoon show Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner. Amazing photos! Thank you

  13. This made me smile this morning, not a better way to begin a weekend 🙂 Beautiful shots (1st and 3rd being my favorites)…and very fitting as it was always the Roadrunner cartoon that started off my Saturdays back in the day. Wishing you a beautiful weekend ahead Cindy ~

    1. Yes, of course, what would a childhood Saturday morning be without the Meeper and Wiley E? It seems like people all over the world watched those cartoons and consider Meep-Meep a personal aquaintance. Of course it could also be that he’s a living dinosaur who we have memories of in our collective unconscious…..What the heck, he’s just a cute little beeper. Happy weekend to you Randall~

    1. Pheasants are fun to spot. We have some exotic ones here that I think are remnants of some long ago birds released for hunting purposes. Good to know they outwitted the hunters!

    1. They really do, and not all of them are included on the Cornell page. The whirring sound they make for example is probably the most unusal. The first times I heard it, I had no idea what it was. Now it’s like a gentle alarm clock letting me know dawn is about to break.

    1. It truly is and I surely had to learn this my first few years at The Holler! I used to have nightmares about rattlesnakes, coyotes and black widow spiders. Now, they don’t even phase me.

  14. Well, I’m glad this fellow was so obliging. He definitely struck some great poses for you. Fascinating plumage and little bright eyes. The sound library was intriguing. Quite a range of sounds!

  15. It’s perfect. Nicely captured pictures! He looks so cute being all high and mighty haha. What I was most amazed is all the different calls they make. I had no idea! Great post, as always 🙂
    Kallia

  16. Wow very cool facts about roadrunners! He is beautiful!!! I love his moveable tuft on his head! Have a great week my friend! Hugz Lisa and Bear

    1. Unfortunately they don’t follow me around in all these mixed herds like they did with Dr. Doolittle! Could be cuz’ I have no idea what I am saying in animal lingo. I have been cooing back with the Great Horned Owls for weeks now. Just found out the sound I was imitating was a territorial threat, which is probablly why the Great Horned over me about a foot from my head!! 😀

      1. I am still doing it, but I have altered the call to a friendly (mating) call and things are peaceful. 😉 😉 Laughing……One pair is returning to our nesting box. They investigated it last year, but didn’t nest. I think they will this year which will be a big thrill.

    1. Roadrunner are so entertaining! They are always up to some mischief. I will be sitting at the table inside and one will leap up to the rafters next to me to snatch a bug or lizard, and don’t even get me going on what they do when they find a snake. Even if the snake is 6 ft long, the roadrunner will vanquish it! They jump into our central courtyard and then don’t know how to get out. They investigate everything we put outside as if it were theirs, which I guess it really is! 😉

  17. Hi Cindy. I have no idea how you feel about re-blogs, but with permission I’d love to re-blog this tomorrow if I may. I just feel like giving back to the community by recognizing all the beauty I see through others. xo

Leave a Reply