In May I took down all but my hanging bird feeders. The squirrels were climbing everything in sight in an attempt to jump on the feeders for a free snack, and I didn’t want them snapping off my daylily scapes.
Last week in the one-hundred-plus-degree heat the birds looked very pathetic, and I was motivated to resurrect 2 hopper feeders to make things a little easier for them. My benevolence didn’t last long, however.
I don’t know what the official term is for a flock of grackles. Perhaps it’s a “murder”, like crows. I think “abomination” is appropriate. Yup, I’m going with abomination. So, it wasn’t long before an abomination of grackles descended from the heavens to make a gigantic mess. Not only did I have to take down my emptied-within-hours hopper feeders AND all the hanging feeders, but I also had to dump out the bird (bee) baths because the grackles were bathing in them by the dozens and turning the water greenish-yellow and using it as a makeshift toilet.
After I confiscated the food and water, they sat in the trees for hours squawking and chattering. Occasionally they’d fly down to search for the feeders, and then they’d return to the trees to make more noise.
In the late afternoon it was finally quiet, so I went outside with a bucket of water to fill at least one birdbath. I didn’t even get 10 feet out the door before one of the grackles spotted me and started screaming secret grackle code throughout the neighborhood. Instantly dozens of the birds appeared in the tops of the trees surrounding our yard. I muttered to myself, turned around abruptly and took my bucket of water back into the house.
Grackles 1, me 0.