I admit it. I thought these were Starlings until I looked at the pictures I took a few months ago of a pair of Starling. These two birds didn't look at all alike. They are about the same size and shape, but the Grackle has a fierce yellow eye. He can look quite ferocious.

  • Grackle
  • Such a fierce face, but not a fierce bird
  • Starling

We had a bunch of these Grackles trying out the various feeders including the brand new mealworm and nut suet cakes. Mmm, yum! I was up to my elbows in Bolognese sauce and refused to be distracted. Finally, when I put it up to simmer, I went for my camera. Those blue-headed Grackles had been around for hours. The minute I picked up my camera -- you guessed it -- they flew away.

Grackle

When this beauty returned, I got some pictures, He was in a hurry and I was shooting with a 300 mm lens fully extended, the birds are half in focus. The depth of field gets really shallow with long zooms.