This morning I took some photos of a male Boat-tailed Grackle at one of the feeders and a pair of males perched on the chimney cap and after downloading them to my laptop I noticed that the two on the chimney both had black eyes! I knew they were grackles because we have lots of them year round but it surprised me when I saw the black eyes! I decided to do some research because I thought all Grackles had gold eyes. I learned that there are four subspecies of Boat-tailed Grackles and although the reason isn't known, Grackles from different regions of the country have different colored eyes, some the gold-yellow and some black.
Male Boat-tailed Grackle with gold eye
A pair of black eyed male Boat-tailed Grackles on the chimney cap. I'm not sure about the behavior they are displaying unless they are trying to outdo each other and jostling for dominance.
Northern Mockingbird
And, this is off-topic of birds but this morning the dog was looking out the kitchen doors and barking so I went to investigate. I noticed a turtle on the other side of our fence in the neighbors yard. It was a female, digging a hole to deposit eggs. She was there for about 2 hours before heading back down the slope into the water. I sure hope the eggs make it and the babies hatch; unfortunately it will be after we've moved so I won't be able to watch the area to possibly see the hatchlings. I'm not certain but I think this is a Red-eared Slider:
~ I'm an old gal who still loves playing in the dirt!
~ Playing in the dirt is my therapy ... and I'm in therapy a lot!
I'm not certain but I think this is a Red-eared Slider:
