Grackle Mornings

Second week of PFW wasn't as active as the first, but still a pretty good showing with 15 species and 58 individuals. The total individuals count was boosted by the 20 (or so) Common Grackles that showed up early Sunday morning.

Apparently there is a place about a mile from my house where the Grackles roost every night. When the sun starts to rise at about 6:30 you can hear them waking up and their calls start getting louder and louder. Eventually they take off and fly in the direction of my house. The noise they create is amazing as they disperse to wherever they go for the day. Sunday morning, they made a stop across the street at a neighbor's house. They were behind a tall fence so I couldn't gauge how many were there, but it had to be at least a couple hundred.

But about 20 of them stopped in my oak tree so I was able to count them for Project FeederWatch. I knew they were up there when the acorns started raining down! Good thing my patio is covered or it would have felt like a hail storm on my noggin.

Here's the total count for the weekend.

Project FeederWatch Count for Nov 21 & 22

• Mourning Dove 5
• Downy Woodpecker 1
• Blue Jay 5
• Carolina Chickadee 1
• Tufted Titmouse 3
• White-breasted Nuthatch 1
• Carolina Wren 1
• American Robin 3
• Northern Mockingbird 1
• Dark-eyed Junco 3
• Northern Cardinal 6
• Common Grackle 20
• House Finch 6 (0 with eye disease)
• American Goldfinch 1 (0 with eye disease)
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow 1

• Totals 15 Species / 58 Individuals

I didn't take any bird pictures, but it's been a while since I posted photos of the Lucy & Topaz. Not the best photo, but it sure shows how much Topaz (on the left) has grown over the past few months.



And she's not nearly as ornery as she appears here.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!!

,_
>' )
( ( \
" |\