unCommon Grackles

     Grackles showed up today. Not many - about four or five. I don't get grackles that often. But I had wheat bread out, and they seem to like to gulp that stuff down.
     I've never had what you would call a flock of them (20 or more) in my yard, so I don't consider them pests. In fact, I think they're kind of funny. They strut instead of hop. They make these screechy kind of sounds, and their antics are amusing.
     I get the Common Grackle around here (photo above). Farther south and in coastal areas, the Boat-tailed Grackle will often flock to parks and other public places to scavenge. They're pretty aggressive in those settings, too, so they can be a general nuisance. They're bigger birds, and the females have a brown face and body. They also have a loud whistling noise in their repertoire of sounds. Out west are Great-tailed Grackles, an even bigger version of this species.
  Here's what I saw at the feeding station today.
               AM, partly cloudy, 65 degrees, 20 minutes
              
              Common Grackle
               Northern Cardinal
               House Finch
               Chipping Sparrow
               Brown Thrasher
               Tufted Titmouse
               Carolina Chickadee
               Northern Mockingbird
               White-throated Sparrow
               White-breasted Nuthatch