Grackles Command the Backyard

The grackle is one of the larger birds that I see frequenting my backyard. They do not tend to go to the feeder thankfully as I imagine that they would make quite a mess. They will, however, peck in the grass and on occasion eat the jujube fruit dropped by the sparrows. As I explained in an earlier post, the sparrows seem playful and happy in their fruit feast. The grackles however become very territorial and if they find a fruit that they claim as their own, they will continue picking it up and flying here and there until they feel they are safe from thieves and then very quickly eat.

I will admit that the grackle was one of my most disliked birds in Arizona until my daughter began pointing out all the interesting things about this bird. My dislike stemmed from a large ficus tree that we had in the backyard of a former home. The grackles would nest in the tree in the evening and would make so much noise that I would need to close the door while having dinner just to hold a conversation. They would sleep in the tree all night and come daybreak, they would start making noise in a cacophony of early morning noise. If you have ever heard a large cluster of these blackbirds, you will know what I mean about just noise. They don't sing, they are not in unison, they just make a sharp and loud noise in varying pitches over and over.

While the females are brown in color the males are sleek and have iridescent feathers though look black from a distance. I have even come to appreciate a single grackle singing to me from one of my trees. One of the cool things about this bird is their little ritual of attracting a mate. The males will put the beaks as high in the air as they can and puff themselves up. There might be three males putting on a show with one or two females pecking away in the grass getting further and further away from the boys. A few times, I have seen a male circling a female with chest puffed while flapping and flexing his wings trying to be noticed. You can't help but feel slightly sorry for the chap when she glances up and then flies away. Very rarely have I seen a male successfully lure the female's interest but we have plenty of grackles in our neighborhood so clearly there are those who are successful.

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I have developed an appreciation for these large birds and enjoy watching them compete for attention and gather their food. The real treat however is enjoying the babies chirping and demanding to be fed while their mother races around my yard to provide some food and gain some silence from her hungry offspring.

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