Grackles will be here in big flocks soon. They are known as short-distance migrants by ornithologists because they spend the winter in the southern half of the United States. Long-distance migrants spend the winter in South or Central America.

When flocks of grackles arrive in the Bangor area, they will make a tremendous racket with their rasping voices. As the snow melts, grackles find south-facing hills without snow. They walk around on the ground looking and probing for worms and grubs.

The grackle that comes to Maine is the common grackle, while the boat-tailed grackle is in Florida and the great-tailed grackle is in Texas.

Common grackles are large black birds, a foot long with a very long tail. The male’s iridescence gleams with bronze on the back and blue on the chest.

The male points his bill skyward, showing the beautiful blue of his chest, as a threat to another male. The flashiest chest wins.

Toward the end of April, the large flocks break apart. At first, four or five male grackles group around one female, puffing out their chests to each other. After a week or so, pairs form and fly together, carrying long strands of grass around as a prelude to nest building.

The nest is made by the female, mostly of grass and mud, with a few twigs, too. Usually the nests are hard to see because they are high in spruce trees. But I have found a few grackle nests in hollow or split trees or stumps, and one in a birdhouse intended for a wood duck. I was surprised at first, but I found those grackle nesting sites verified in several sources.

Their food is varied and large compared to that of most songbirds. Once I saw a flock walking on the ground in the forest. Each grackle was tossing leaves aside, looking for food underneath. Most were finding worms, centipedes, snails and other small food items. I was surprised to see one grackle find a small mouse and carry it up onto a branch, hold it down with its foot, dismember and eat it.

Another time, I saw a grackle fly by with a frog in its bill. Yet another time I saw a grackle kill and eat a yellow warbler fledgling. Again, I was surprised by grackle behavior, but I found it verified in several sources, which also said that grackles have been known to eat small snakes. They also have been observed to wade in the water and catch a minnow, and to fly up in the air and catch a bat!

For information on Fields Pond Audubon Center, call 989-2591.