Bullying Grackles

A flock of bossy, noisy grackles ascended on the neighborhood recently, and their bullying is keeping most of the other birds away from the feeders.

Grackles usually arrive this time of year when the acorns are maturing on the oak trees in the area. However this is a very light acorn year (we can sleep through the night without being startled awake by banging and rattling on the roof!). Instead of moving on, the grackles are ravaging all of the neighborhood birdfeeders.

The only birds brave enough to share a feeder with them are Mourning Doves and Blue Jays, and the grackles eventually chase them off, too. I didn’t think Blue Jays were afraid of anything.