The Beauty of the Unexpected
I love to find joyful surprises during the day. This morning, one of them came in the form of a grackle on the feeders. The sun was shining on its feathers, bringing out the iridescence that is not always visible. It was as beautiful as it was unexpected.
Usually, grackles are not my favorite birds. They can be problematic around the normal backyard birds. They come in large flocks that scare off the smaller birds and they decimate the seeds in the feeders. I often shoo them off, watching them flutter into the trees where they wait for me to forget about them and then they return to continue feeding. And when they appear in vast numbers along their migration paths, they can pose health problems, damage crops, and create quite a mess.
In an ordinary backyard, however, there are ways to minimize their presence. Choosing feeders that discourage them is one way. A feeder with a cylinder wrapped inside a cage pretty much keeps them out. But it doesn’t mean that they won’t hang around for a while, munching on seeds thrown out by the other birds. They are also very observant, so if you don’t mind waving at them through the window several times they may eventually take off. And they do migrate so sooner or later they’ll be gone, leaving the feeders to the regulars.
Even though I often chase them away, I do appreciate these big black, yet colorful birds. They are native to North America, have a yearly presence, and shake me out of the winter doldrums with their beauty. They also remind me not to make judgments based solely on appearance, whether about birds or situations or people, because you never know when the unexpected can help you to see things differently and sometimes with joy.
If the grackles are getting piggy, try these techniques:
Editor's Note:
National Audubon Society's page on the Common Grackle: http://birds.audubon.org/species/comgra1
National Audubon Society's page on the Common Grackle: http://birds.audubon.org/species/comgra1
©2014 Ferida Wolff for SeniorWomen.com
Pages: 1 · 2
More Articles
- Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Vee-ing Across the Sky
- Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Spring is Coming
- Ferida's Wolff's Backyard: The Snow Turned Into Snowy Rain As It Fell From The Trees. Still Lovely ...
- Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Shifting Seasons: We Need to Remember That We Are Strong Underneath, That Things Change and That the World is Flexible.
- Women's Health and Aging Studies Available Online; Inform Yourself and Others Concerned About Your Health
- Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Awesome Goldfinches, Part of the Incredible Possibilities That Nature Might Offer
- Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Nature’s Jigsaw Puzzles
- Rebecca Louise Law: Awakening on View at Honolulu Museum of Art
- Ferida Wolff Writes: Our Senses
- Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Dandelion Landing