Video: Duelling Gracks!
Love is in the air, and the Grackles compete for the females by puffing up and stretching themselves. This was a fun scene to watch today, seeing two males showing off in front of a female. It lasted quite a bit and I only made minor edits. Sound on for full enjoyment!
The backyard is starting
to brim with fertility, and love is buzzing all over the place. I saw Grackles mating, Robins collecting nesting material by the bath, and the Cardinals were totally hamming it up today. There is just something so pure and adorable about a Cardi man feeding his lady to woo her. I have seen it several times today, and I am so happy that they even took it to the camera. I hope their nest, wherever it is, is safe and sound, and they will have some babies this year. Come good into Saturday!
A double puff
is better than a single puff. Grackles have a very impressive way of showing their beauty and dominance during mating season.
This Grack
appeared in full blue-purple glory and my favorite pose. Now that the ladies have arrived, there is lots of puffing up and rusty tin toy noises all around. One Grack loved the camera feeder that was on the livestream today, and it looked like he was just casually blowing himself up between every other bite.
There's still the occasional night frost,
which had me searching for solutions to get my veggie seeds going in the house, but spring is definitely here now. The fruit trees and bushes are starting to bud, the lawn is beginning to look greener again, and there are little displays of courtship and birb love all over the place. This House finch couple came last night for an intimate dinner. The female begs, and the male feeds her. Later on, the babies will beg from their parents to be fed just in the same way, it is very adorable to watch.