Roscoe The Tame Grackle Is Back

I am 99% sure this is my juvie Grackle from last year, returned to my yard. He has molted into his adult plumeage now, but there are three giveaways that tell me he is my buddy from last year. First is, he landed and went right for the peanuts. Grackles know nothing about peanuts, and he had to learn to eat them last summer by watching The Red Baron eat them. Second, his feet are still shiney and new looking. Bird feet get progressively more scaley and gray looking over the years. And Third, he is not even remotely flighty or scared of me here in the window. All other Grackles fly if they even see you move.

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very nice shots Mitch, do you get a lot of those guys? Also, I bet his claws would dig in when hand feeding him! never ceases to amaze me how they come back to the same spots. great shooting!

Thanks Bret. He is very relaxed. Even the Baron, who has been here every day since he fledged, going on 4 years now, will fly into the Lilac Bush if I move too fast. This guy just watches me and is not flighty like other Grackles. I have been talking to him whenever he is here, so I think he has accepted me as a friend of the tribe. There are no others around most of the time. In Spring and late fall, I get maybe a dozen in the yard, but they always earn their keep by working over the grass for bugs before they go for the seeds. They are always welcome. Roscoe was the last guy here last fall, and the last to leave, well after all the others had left.

Not sure about this guys claws, but a Blue Jay has a death grip. I found out a couple years ago when one injured his wing from flying into the house. I picked him up and he got a death grip on my finger. He didn't try to bite or anything, just hung on.

Grackles can be very funny at times, Nice to see you have a regular at your porch.

Thanks John. I think they are very smart birds. I have watched them at the park, and they are curious and interested in everything. They seem to watch and think a lot.

Nice series, Mitch. I've never paid them much attention, didn't realize they were such a pretty bird.

Good job on these Mitch. Love the blue color.

Thanks Dan and Toney. Roscoe is quite large for a Grackle and looking good. I think part of that is due to his good diet. He gets plenty to eat here and he knows he is welcome.

Great series Mitch....I have a few of these that stop by every once in a while, they're really pretty birds and very interesting to watch.

The feathers on the Grackle are beautiful to photograph, your Roscoe is a handsome bird... I had a little White-throated Sparrow that came back to the same spot on my trail two years in a row... I wonder if he will make it back for the third time?

db

Nice!
These guys need to lighten up a bit and quit looking at everything so seriously.

Thanks Sharon, Dave and Tim. They are pretty birds. I can see where they would be a pest at times, in large mobs, but that's just how they are. Same way with that serious look. It's just the way we see them, which is hard to remember some times.

Dave. This bird has returned, and I have a male Red Wing that has been back for the third year now, and I am sure some of my Orioles are returnees. And I know for sure that my female Hummers are all one family that has nested right here year after year. It's still amazing that they can find their way back.

Roscoe is a great looking bird Mitch. They sure have that evil eye thing going on. You're right about Grackles, they are sure skittish. The ones here will take off if I look out the window at them. Nice shots of your pets.

Thanks Steve. It's a good feeling to know that a bird feels so safe here, he will come back from thousands of miles away to spend more time here. Last summer, he became so use to me I could sit out there within ten feet of that table and he would be the first bird back in the yard. I talked to him a lot and he would chip back to me. Pretty cool little bird.

Great shots, Mitch, and nice colors on the grackle.