Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire paisano

rough way to go

we have one at the ranch that is almost like a pet.

Must be a good Republican Road Runner.

If I lived in Texas I'd probably try and keep a dozen of them around, kinda like guinea hens, just so I wouldn't have to pay attention to the ground so much when walking around the place.

they are amazing easy to get use to being around people.

I'm told, they also eat quail every chance they get, too...

But they are still pretty cool birds

When I lived in Albuquerque for a couple of years, in the near north valley (which is pretty much in the center of town), I had one that lived in my yard.

They eat just about anything that they can catch, and do prey on the eggs and young of ground-nesting birds. However, we have lots of roadrunners here in the valley and we also have lots of quail.

MH, what is your take on their reputation on eating young quail, please? I had a rancher from Alpine tell me hes seen them together often and no problems. Others swear they grab the chicks heads and do as that one did the rattler.

No wonder Wiley had such a hard time.....

depends if their hungry

It's all about some sorta' balance,....like Ben, I have LOTS of Quail, and lots of RR's.

If I leave the door open, the damn things come right into the house.

Their nests are so basic / primitive as to be almost comical.

They WILL run from an angry Quail,....saw that just yesterday.

....balance

GTC

Some radiotracking work that is being done over in the West Potrillos by New Mexico State University suggests that once the chicks are out of the nest and following their parents, the mortality rate declines significantly. I believe that this is the middle year of a three-year study. The first year, we were still in a drought. This year, quail are breeding like rabbits. It will be interesting to see how the results look after the final year next year.

Out here, numbers of quail, like most other species, ebb and flow with annual precipitation. Predation on quail is a function of the availability of both quail chicks and alternate prey. Both tend to fluctuate in synchrony, so it is very difficult to sort out the just what the effect of a single predator species has on a prey species. Virtually all the research concludes that climate (the summation of weather events) is the predominant driving variable, accounting for 80-90 percent of the variation seen between sites and between years.

Thanks MH, but as an ameture bird dog trainer and hunter of quail since about 1960 and all too familiar with their population fluctuations i was wondering more if you felt the RRs fed on chicks if given the oppurtunity.

All predators are opportunistic, and roadrunners are no exception--in fact they probably define the term. However, unlike other predators like raccoons and coyotes that also prey on ground nesting birds, I have seen no evidence that roadrunners systematically search for quail nests or specifically search for broods of quail chicks in preference to pursuing other prey.

Ok and thanks.