It’s not a stretch to think there were all sorts of treasures hidden in the vegetation on this rotting log floating just off the boardwalk at Orlando Wetlands.
The Boat-tailed Grackle pulled …
and yanked…
…and dragged whatever he could latch onto.
However, he didn’t appear to find anything good.
Orlando Wetlands, Christmas, FL
February 11, 2025
The Merlin Bird ID app says this is likely a Boat-tailed Grackle, despite the short tail.
I saw a couple of them that had odd looking tails on a walk around an old rice field dike and wondered if they were juveniles. Turns out juveniles are brown.
And the yellow eye is variable in both Common and Boat-tailed Grackles.
Whichever it was, this one had climbing on his mind.
Well, it’s rather a harsh song, and can grate on your nerves if you are sharing space with them near a boat launch. That’s where I spotted this pair, the male trying really hard to impress the female.
When they are in the shade the grackle’s blue iridescent feathers don’t show off much but they make a nice silhouette.
The male’s efforts didn’t seem to be making enough impression.
Hmm, I can ignore you, too!
At least I think it is a Boat-tailed Grackle, not a Common Grackle. This is another pair of birds that All About Birds uses a size comparison to help tell them part. Useful if you see them together, not so much on their own. They did seem to have a big tail.
These images were taken at the pond near the rookery and swamp I frequent. A group of 8 or 10 was working its way along the edge, hopping along limbs that have fallen in the water.
Both kinds are noisy, with constant calling, like their Red-winged Black bird relative. It was the iridescence that attracted me, and their repeated trips to the water. They will eat frogs, lizards, and turtles and did poke around a little in this water that has all of these but it was a bit deep for them to jump in.
