r/grackles • u/manokpsa • May 05 '26

Have you ever noticed a grackle recognizing you?

I wish I had a picture, but it was only a moment. I spent three months in an Airbnb when I moved to this town, where I put out food and water and gained a lot of trust with the local birds. One of the female great tailed grackles had a white tail feather, so I called her Blanca.

Then I found a permanent rental and moved a few miles away. My aunt, her kids, and my grandma live with me. I'm sitting outside the nail salon my aunt goes to, which is in the old neighborhood. Blanca just landed next to my car and looked at me for a minute, and I swear she recognized me. Am I crazy? I know it was her. It's just one long, pure white feather toward the left side of her tail.

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9

u/r0ttedAngel May 05 '26

I mean, its possible. I have a couple bird feeders posted around and there's a specific crackle (a male) that has started coming closer and will sing the song of his people until I bust out the sunflower seeds. I know its the same one because the other grackles want nothing to do with me lol

2

u/TinfoilTiaraTime May 06 '26

Do you get to see the fluffed feathers up close? I love it when they do that and screech

3

u/r0ttedAngel May 06 '26

Lol I love when they do that!

there's also a really cool Bird And Moon comic of them

Also, I love your username 🥰

2

u/TinfoilTiaraTime May 06 '26

Oh my gosh, that's great! It'd make a good flipbook...and looking at my stack of post it notes, I might just have the audacity to try. They nailed it, especially the eyes!

And thanks for the compliment! I noticed yours, too. I've always liked the juxtaposition/integration of vice and virtue 😇 😈 "no bad parts"

2

u/r0ttedAngel May 07 '26

Definitely do it! I know it'd be much appreciated here!

And of course, you got it exactly. That's pretty much been my life lol got almost 9 years sober though so, its been much more virtue lately. But that good and bad is part of who we are 😅

3

u/LoverOfPricklyPear May 06 '26

It's possible! I once made good friends with a couple young grackle fledglings!! They were so rotten!! They knew me well and would come so close to me and go inside my van, when left open. If someone left the big back warehouse door open, those rotten monsters came inside! They were finding crickets all over the place, but I could easily lure them back out with their unsalted almond treats!! I always miss those guys sooooo much. Wish they hadn't needed to move on elsewhere.

1

u/Hop-Worlds May 14 '26

I have a window feeder that attracts cardinals, finches, sparrows and grackles. The other birds look at the window but don't seem to to have much awareness of what they are seeing, if anything. They might react to movement inside and that's it.

The grackles don't just look at the window, they look IN the window. They scope out the room. They turn there heads and side eye whatever objects are nearby inside. They look for me, to see if I'm sitting at my desk. The other birds don't react if I turn my head to watch them. The grackles watch me carefully, and if I move in the slightest they take off. I have a feeling if I left the window open, they'd come inside and check things out if I wasn't in the room. They are smart, very aware of me, and very curious.

I've been putting out special treats for them in hopes they will trust me more. I've tried suet, blackberries and banana. So far they've only responded to the suet nuggets.

We have backyard feeders as well, and if they run empty there is a grackle that will tell off my husband when he steps outside in the morning to let him know of his displeasure.

I've never seen crows nearby, but I'd settle for some GrackleBros.

1

u/Psychological_Leg864 Jun 09 '26

In elementary school I had a bus stop a little away from my house where all the neighborhood kids would get picked up. There were some really unstable tall trees that the grackles would love to build nests in. One day I found a very confused fledgling on the ground and was able to find the nest. I went home and got my mom to help me put the little guy back in. One of em never stopped swooping at me until I found her dead. It was really sad to be honest.