Grackles & Lawnmowing

I kind of like grackles. A lot of people consider them pests, and really hate them, because they swarm in big flocks and poop on cars and in pools and generally make irritating yard guests by chasing off "cuter" birds and stealing all the food. (In this sort of behavior, grackles remind me of some people I know). They are considered by some to be a "pest bird" because of their lack of tidy behavior.

But I think when you watch a grackle stalking bugs or just stomping around a parking lot or park that you really can believe that birds are the modern descendents of dinosaurs. They look so feral, so ruthless. If they were big enough, they would have no qualms about eating us. Their birdcall is sort of like a cross between a buzz and a whistle, and they have these shiny brown/blue/black feathers and beady little black eyes.

Today, I mowed our lawn. As you mow the lawn, bugs, grasshoppers, spiders, etc-- any bug that was using the long rain soaked grass as a refuge-- will run for it. As the bugs try to escape the blades of fury, they apparently become quite vulnerable in their panic to smart birds who have figured out a lawnmower means a quick easy meal. There were, by the time I finished mowing the back yard, at least five grackles stalking around the spaces I had just passed with the lawnmower. They looked like they were getting a good feast, too. Now, I do feel empathy for the bugs that became dinner. But eventually everyone ends up someone's dinner, so it's part of the deal. And I had to admire the cleverness of those little brown beady-eyed dinosaurs with feathers in figuring out that the lawnmower is essentially like the pizza delivery guy just rang their doorbell. Now if I could just get them to give me a 15% tip. (And I'm sure that grackles have swiped plenty of valuables in their time and could manage more than 15% bug as a tip).