Grackles Galore

We have a birdfeeder and some bird houses and baths in our back yard. We notice a lot of birds at the feeder, especially at migrating times in the spring and fall. So far this summer only some of the local birds, such as mourning doves and cardinals, have shown up, together with hordes of squirrels. We have also had hummingbirds, and these birds have flown all over the place, annoying the other birds that cross its territory near our hummingbird feeder.

As of late we have been getting huge flocks of grackles, with as many as 40 grackles in our back yard. They eat up the food and suet quickly, and I had to replace the food in the feeder. But I let them feed, since these flocks come mixed with other species. Somoe of these are starlings, which I could care less about. But last spring we saw two red-winged blackbirds among the grackles. For that reason, we let the grackles feed.

They are skittish birds. The slightest movement, even indoors, will scare them all off in a big swoosh. I have even heard of a case where cardinals and other songbirds come in just after the grackles have been scared away, so they can get a chance at getting the food before the grackles come back.

Things are changing all right. Now I hear of nighthawks in the area, including the Diamond, where the Richmond Braves play baseball. A huge flock of them showed up at the Diamond, and this got reported in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Later on, more birds will come in as migration proceeds, and the snowbirds will arrive - the first sign of winter.