• Home
  • About
  • Contact Us

CvilleBuzz

A Jim Brewer Publication

  • Outdoor Report
  • Boomer Memories
  • Now We’re Cooking
  • Golfing for Duffers
  • Backyard Birds and Buds
  • Local Business
You are here: Home / Backyard Birds and Buds / Grackle Attackle

Grackle Attackle

March 19, 2020 By Jim Brewer

 

They showed up earlier than ever. At first there were just three, then ten and now fifty. Grackles!
I feel the same way about them as Seinfeld did about “Newman!”

If there were just a few, they wouldn’t be such a nuisance, but they come in droves, they crowd out all my songbirds and they eat all the seeds.

Grackles, actually, are considered songbirds and are thus protected from BB guns and air rifles. But their songs are not those you would want to hear for more than a few seconds. They screech more than sing. They often steal food from other birds and are known to kill adult sparrows.

I hate ‘em.

Grackles often nest in colonies and prefer tall pines. Young grackles happen to be a preferred food of crows, which sneak in and rob the nests. Good job, crows. The more grackles you eat the better.

Since there is nothing I can do to keep the grackles away – short of stop feeding all the birds – I have found that if I strew a lot of cracked corn to the side, they will go to that and leave most of the other seed areas alone. Since cracked corn is fairly inexpensive, that’s my sole strategy to contend with the black pests.

The only good thing about grackles is that they eventually leave – usually around June, after they nest.

Then no more “Newman” grackles till next March.

Good riddance.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket

You might also enjoy

Default ThumbnailOn the Watch For bluebirds Default ThumbnailNational Robins’ Convention Default ThumbnailA Bunch of Horse Manure Default ThumbnailDeice Your Birdbath

Filed Under: Backyard Birds and Buds

advertisement

Subscribe to CvilleBuzz

Subscribe to our mailing list

Latest Stories

  • Telling It Like It Is
  • Trader Joe’s Tempura Shrimp
  • The Robins of Capistrano
  • Heavenly Cod
  • A Passenger Hawk

Find us on Facebook

Find us on Facebook

Popular Stories

  • White Tailed Blackbird
  • The Best-Ever Frozen Biscuits
  • Pancakes: Aunt Jemima vs Bisquick
  • Butch Wax and Flat Tops
  • The Rathskeller at Chapel Hill

About Cville Buzz

I am Jim Brewer, Editor of the new CvilleBuzz, a humble on-line attempt to entertain those, not only … Read More...

Story Sections

  • A Losing proposition
  • Around Town
  • Articles From the Past
  • Backyard Birds and Buds
  • Band Aid
  • Boomer Memories
  • Chuckles
  • Columns to Remember
  • Coming Attractions
  • Conservation
  • Dan Corbin
  • Eatin' Out
  • Exploring Virginia
  • Golfing for Duffers
  • Greg Lefler
  • Guest column
  • Hawaii
  • HUnting Update
  • In Layman's Terms
  • Lights Out
  • Local Business
  • Nancy B's
  • Neat Stuff
  • Now We're Cooking
  • On Golden Pond
  • Outdoor Report
  • Ready Fore Golf
  • Realtor
  • Road Trips
  • Saltwater Report
  • The Garden Spot
  • The Outer Banks
  • Trout Fishing
  • Weeds and Wildflowers
  • While Shepherds Watched

Pages

  • About
    • Lights Out: Lighting Fixtures
  • Contact Us

Advertise on Cville Buzz

Do business in the Charlottesville area? Then Contact Us to learn about our affordable rates and attractive ad display options.

Copyright © 2021 Cville Buzz · Log in