Thank you SO much Lisa and Kc for your kind words and helping hearts! Whats happened is that mom n I have aquired and been blessed with a huge flock of Grackles who have now taken ownership of our backyard AND our hearts. We also have a huge colony of house sparrows, doves, Gambles quails, house finches, occasional Cardinals, and anything else that decides to land on in. We know all of our Grackles, half have names and the new babies we are working on names. Some of them we are lucky to have 3 generations take up residency! Our Grackles have our hearts! Its a little obsessive to where we schedule appointments around times that we want to be home to feed them and change their water dishes and kiddie pools we have for them out there. But we wouldnt have it any other way, they bring us so much joy we could never ever give back even a fraction of what they bless us with. Where our problem comes in is in the new arrival of an unwanted guest. We call him the Serial Killer bird, hes another Common Grackle (we have half Boatails and half common all in the same flock). He just appeared one day awkward and very fidgety and VERY predator creepy mannerisms we noticed him RIGHT AWAY. At first just thought oh a newcomer ..then watching him a few minutes we were startled! He surveyed the whole area, mimicking the other birds, but would never eat or drink, just look and lunge. Then he would pounce on any mother feeding fledglings and even got ahold of a few who initially ran right up to him at first with their mouths open and wings flapping thinking are you my daddy ? Feed me feed me....only to be viciously attacked! It was so shocking it completely disrupted our whole loving peaceful harmonious oasis! The next week he had gotten a fledgling while we were gone! I cried all day. Removing her little body in pieces from the water dish she loved to bathe in now completely filled with blood, completely devastated me. I still cry over her loss. That day the flock was awry and barely ate anything. Not too many visitors came after that, that day. His next couple of attempts we fortunately have thwarted, by being on the scene. Literally screaming yelling and banging as soon as he decends on any one of our residents. Now he is eating and drinking among the flock, but still attacking when he can. We are SO afraid he will get ahold of another one of our sweet playful trusting little fledglings, when we arent home. Friends have offered suggestions that Im not ok with and absolutely doesnt coincide with the peace and love we have cultivated over time with all of our birds. One suggestion was a handheld and operated slingshot. The rest were from bb to pellet guns.
