Spring migration has started. Well, it starts about mid-February with the Eastern Bluebirds, followed by some of the ducks and hawks. And just a few days ago (before that last snow storm that dumped two feet of snow on us, the Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles started to appear.
Which brings me to the next bird in decline. The Common Grackle. A medium sized blackbird (OK, it’s not a European thrush, so it isn’t a real blackbird, but it is what we call them. Because I’m not going to be proper and call them icterids.) It is not a rare bird; there are estimated to be about 73 million of them. But 40 years ago there were 190 million, so it has declined by 61%.
I would recount the story of my first seeing one, or my last seeing one but… well… they’re grackles. I see them in large numbers every year. They’re already back for this season. But why are their numbers dropping? Well, after the breeding season they roost communally and they will eat grain and other agricultural products, so they are seen as pests. But even with blackbird extermination programs, they will be with us for quite some time.
1 comments:
I love grackles, but then I even like starlings. :) The grackles and red-winged blackbirds showed up at my feeders early last week, and yesterday I heard killdeer in the fields again.
The mourning doves have been having sex on our deck railing. Yay spring!
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