Great-Tailed Grackles
I first experienced grackles when I was in college in Austin, TX, many years ago. Their loud whistles and gravelly squawks seemed cute and friendly to me. Click this linked site to hear a sample! God has a good sense of humor.
They made themselves entirely at home, wherever they were. Stalking around in a lordly manner, they obviously felt free to partake of any and all bugs that made the unfortunate decision to remain out in the open.
They made themselves entirely at home, wherever they were. Stalking around in a lordly manner, they obviously felt free to partake of any and all bugs that made the unfortunate decision to remain out in the open.
My family lived a couple of hundred miles farther north, and my home town had nary a grackle. They were citizens of the south.
Then about fifteen years later, I heard that familiar whistle. I rounded up my small children, and we took binoculars to the back yard to find the grackle. There he was, perched at the very top of our neighbor’s tall pine tree, whistling away. From then on, the grackle population has continued to increase, and now they make up a large number of our bird citizenry.
Many people complain about them, but I still find them entertaining and funny—that is, except when they roost in the trees over our driveway and deposit their waste on our cars. A big plastic owl keeps watch, though, and they seem to believe it is real. As long as he guards the place, they find other trees for roosting.
The picture comes from this blog: From My Perch: Great-tailed Grackles
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