Meet my Enemy. The Common Grackle.There is a Bird that has been stealing all my Strawberries! I catch him on my Strawberry Plant all the time. He has eaten all my berries!! Yesterday I scared him away and he went to the roof of the house and made all kinds of noise at me until I went inside.
This is War!! I moved the Strawberry Plant up onto the deck hoping the proximity to the house will keep him away. So far so good! But I can feel my enemy laying in wait........
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This is what I have learned about my enemy
Common Grackle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) is a large icterid.
The 32 cm long adult has a long dark bill, a pale yellowish eye and a long tail; its plumage is an iridescent black, or purple on the head. The adult female is slightly smaller and less glossy.
The breeding habitat is open and semi-open areas across North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The nest is a well-concealed cup in dense trees (particularly pine) or shrubs, usually near water; sometimes, the Common Grackle will nest in cavities or in man-made structures. It often nests in colonies, some being quite large.
This bird is a permanent resident in much of its range. Northern birds migrate in flocks to the southeastern United States.
The Common Grackle forages on the ground, in shallow water or in shrubs; it will steal food from other birds. It is omnivorous, eating insects, minnows, frogs, eggs, berries, seeds, grain and even small birds.
This bird's song is particularly harsh, especially when these birds, in a flock, are calling.
The range of this bird expanded west as forests were cleared. In some areas, it is now considered a pest by farmers because of their large numbers and fondness for grain.
3 comments:
LOL, you have me laughing today! I use to raise them in rehab and they are quite the characters. :)
You may want to try a few "tricks" to see if it helps?
Hang a tin pie pan on a string near your strawberries. Sometimes the movement (when the breeze moves it) scares birds away.
Another thing is you can buy a toy rubber snake and drape it or put it next to the plants. Most birds will try to avoid large snakes.
Hi Carolyn :)
My mom loves all animals except the Grackle. The would take over all her feeders and chase the other birds away. She was always running through the yard trying to scare them off. She has since given up feeding birds. I hope they leave your strawberries alone.
rue :)
Got to Lowe's/Home depot abd buy bird netting. Put it over the berries next year before they get ripe. End of bird stealing all the berries problem
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