Nature, Life

Roadrunner Luck

My grandpa’s legacy

I had a chance encounter with this handsome roadrunner in Peter’s Canyon (Orange County, California) the other day — my birthday, in fact. He darted out in front of me so fast (they can run up to twenty-seven miles per hour) that I barely had time to pull my iPhone out.

I remember when I was eleven, moving from upstate New York to Arizona, and my grandpa told me that I’d see roadrunners in the desert. He, of Minnesotan Norwegian heritage, hadn’t seen them much during his life, and was so fascinated by them. I think I’ve always carried his fascination in my heart. So when I saw this one run across the trail in front of me on the anniversary of my birth, I took it as a good sign.

The Hopi and other Pueblo tribes of the American southwest see roadrunners as “medicine birds” which have the power to protect against evil spirits. Their tracks are shaped like X’s and, as such, throw their predators off as to which direction the bird is running (confusing those malignant spirits who might be chasing them).

Representations of those tracks have been found in the rock art of ancestral Southwestern tribes like the Anasazi and Mogollon cultures, as well. Roadrunner feathers have been traditionally used to decorate Pueblo cradleboards as spiritual protection for the baby. In Mexican Indian and American Indian tribes, such as the Pima, seeing a roadrunner is considered to be very good luck.

Although I know that several families of roadrunners inhabit the hills of Peter’s Canyon, it’s a bit rare to encounter one so up close. I’ve taken it as a good sign for the year ahead.

Thank you for coming along with me on my “chance encounter.” You might also enjoy:

Erika Burkhalter is a yogi, neurophilosopher, cat-mom, photographer, and lover of travel and nature, spreading her love and amazement for Mother Earth’s glories, one photo, poem or story at a time. (MS Neuropsychology, MA Yoga Studies).