Common Grackle: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, March 2026 — We have more Common Grackles passing through southern Maine this year (I sincerely hope they are passing through) than I have ever seen before. Flocks of many hundreds at a time. We have had 50 or more at the same time sitting in the top of two trees in the neighbor’s yard. If you know grackles, you know what that sounds like. I count it as a blessing that they either do not like or have not discovered our mealworm supply. This one was in the small wetland behind the houses along our street, congregating with the male Red-winged Blackbirds. They were not singing harmony—more counterpoint—but it was an interesting sound bath, if not a symphony. In this particular light, you see the iridescence in the body feathers quite clearly while the head remains dark. That too is a counterpoint. And that bright yellow eye is as amazing as ever. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at about 800mm equivalent field of view crop. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.