Garden

[terrier3]

Our outdoor cat when I was growing up ONLY ate the heads of birds!

[Nataliesgramma]

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@ncascade wrote:

Where do you live? We live in 43 acre wood. Our house is on 1 of those acres. In the spring summer we get many critters here. Could be raccoons or owls. I suspect owls.

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I live in the city but my backyard goes back 200 ft.......

[Venezia]

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@MalteseMomma wrote:

@Venezia

ok,I am so sorry,i misunderstood

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@MalteseMomma - Thank you. I appreciate that.

[Bird mama]

@Nataliesgramma  I've seen grackles do that, just rip the head off of birds.

[Nataliesgramma]

@Bird mama I do have a few Grackles coming to the feeders. I think they are meaner than Blue Jays!

[Bird mama]

@Nataliesgramma

Natalies gramma, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that grackles are the thugs of the bird community. 

Where a blue jay will raid a nest or birdhouse of it's hatchling sparrows to feed it's own babies, a grackle will rip the head off of sparrow fledgling (in particular) for the sole reason that they can.  I had it happen twice in one summer - grackle ripped the head off the sparrow fledgling and left the body and head.  I nearly lost my mind.

[Nataliesgramma]

@Bird mamaI had 2 Grackles that were coming to eat the suet. I stopped putting out suet, but keep all the feeders filled and I haven't see them since........or dead birds come to think of it....

[Gardengal55]

Really???....did not know that.  I never cared for grackles because they are noisy and bossy at the feeders but I didn't know they did that.  Well...I will have DH board up the hole in the old garage out back.  For a few years I have joked about our bird condo under the eaves.  We have had numerous colonies of grackles living there--sometimes a couple broods per season.  They are always coming and going and noisy.  They and the squirrels provide alot of entertainment for us in the back yeard.  But now I have changed my attitude towards them.  Do I wait until they all fledge or board up the hole now?

Too mean...I will wait.

[Bird mama]

@Gardengal55

I'm in Michigan and when I am lucky, my yard is merely a stop along their migration.  I haven't seen grackles in weeks so I assume they moved on to wherever they were going so I didn't have a problem this year.

To be honest with year I only saw severe grackle violence one year in the nearly 16 that I've lived in my house. 

If they are not bothering any other birds, I'd live and let live.  Grackles are a beautiful bird - maybe I got an aggressive group that one year.

[shoekitty]

I dont want to hear this.  Omg, I am going out with a sling shot and guard my babies tomorrow.  My little goldfinches, and those precious fledglings.  What does a gackle look like? 

I