Lufkin man drives 11 hours home with rescued roadrunner egg in hand

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - A Lufkin man found a single surviving egg abandoned in a nest near his Odessa worksite.

He kept the egg incubated in his hand for the entire 11 hour drive back to Lufkin. The egg hatched that night in the man’s home, and it turned out to be a roadrunner. The man and his wife couldn’t find a local bird rescue to take care of the hatchling, so they drove the140 miles to Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Hutchins, Texas.

Paula Hagan volunteers at Rogers and was working intake when the bird was dropped off.

“We get a lot of baby birds and when she told me the story about her husband. I was just so amazed that he had driven 11 hours. I just assumed that they lived in Dallas, and I said ‘Where do y’all live?’ and she said Lufkin. Then I was even more surprised that she had driven that much further to bring the bird to us,” Hagan said.

The bird has been in the care of the rehabilitation center and has been thriving. Rogers will feed and raise the bird until he is bigger and eating on his own. He will then be held in an outdoor pen on the property until he reverts to his wild state. Once they feel that he can survive on his own, he will be released back into the wild.

Rogers posted the story on their Facebook page and told the story of what happened to the bird. They asked the public for name suggestions. He has now been named Miles for the miles and miles of Texas he has traveled in his short life.

Copyright 2023 KTRE. All rights reserved.