Hey Birdman AKA Clutchkiller LOL

[Hideandwatch]

I dont know what they are but cool birds, all three. Old Jim thought the larger birds are Grackles black being the male, but I didnt have as good of shots as these..btw arent that great but good enough for identifying...anyones input is great, just figured Paul would know.

 

[clutchkiller]

Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Grackles (didn't even have to look em up

). Congrats on getting an image of that male RBG, they aren't very common... I saw my second RBG this morning, the last time was three years ago.

 

[Hideandwatch]

Hey Paul thanks, do you know what kind of Grackles these are? Man those Grackles sure are a noisy bunch of birds, but very cool calls they make. There are several of the Rosebreasted Grosbeaks around now, this is the first ever I have seen them and also the first for the Grackles. Weird that there use to be Orioles around here the first spring we moved here and I havent seen any since. The RBG has been seen at the feeder and I am going to try and get some really good closeups of it there.

 

[clutchkiller]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hideandwatch @ May 5 2007, 09:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Hey Paul thanks, do you know what kind of Grackles these are?[/b]

Now this I had to look up in my Sibley guide, because the range of the common and great-tailed grackles overlap. The birds in you images are great-tailed grackles, you can tell by the light colored feathers around the females throat in the second image, and the male in the first image has more of a solid body color than the common grackle.

As I am sitting here typing this I saw a RBG outside my window... it's very strange. They must be late returners (from the south) and might just be passing through. I would try to get as many images as you could, and hang on to them... you might not see them again for another three years (lol).

 

[Hideandwatch]

Thanks Paul. I had been googling and came up with possibly Boattailed, but if ya say so. These shots were with the 1.7 T-con lens attached. I just wish that there was better lighting, it has been overcast and has made for poor lighting and I dont see any sun in the near future. Because there are so many of the grackles it would be easy to get some great shots in early morning light (the best light there is). Of course the RBG is not as plentiful as the Grackles. Man it's cool watching and listening to the Grackles, have never heard such a unusual vocal bird. And the male with it's mating stances or struts, and fluttering of the wings and tailfeathers...wow..LOL..unbeleivable!

 

[clutchkiller]

I thought boat-tailed at first too... until I looked in my Sibley guide. Boat-tails only range along the eastern coast starting in the Gulf of Mexico, going through all of Florida and up to Virginia (you are too far inland). Having a book like the Sibley guide is great for stuff like this, best $20 I ever spent on a book.