Re: A True Story About the Panamint Springs Roadrunner
Posted by Jerry K. on April 26, 2004 at 19:15:14:
In Reply to: A True Story About the Panamint Springs Roadrunner posted by moraine on April 24, 2004 at 00:26:47:
That reminds me of a scene from Deep Springs Vallely, where I was doing my senior CSUFresno field course. That year had a good hatch of those grasshoppers that crackle as they fly. You couldn't walk very far without having those fairly large grasshoppers leap up and rattle their wings off a few paces. I was up a secluded canyon, the kind where the hummingbirds pop up from behind a bush to give you the once over as they dart back and forth before zooming off.
I was standing in one place for a bit as I observed and recorded some geologic feature, and out of the corner of my eye noticed a good sized collared lizard moving with those microbursts of speed from position to position. Next a grasshopper took off and that lizard jammed right after him and was there, waiting as the wings gave out, still within clear view of me. The lizard smirked I'm sure as I watched the grasshopper's legs kick the inside of the lizard's throat.