This has been the rainiest (and windiest) week we have had since moving to Florida. Just when you think it is about to clear up the clouds roll in and the heavens open again. This has severely limited our outdoor activities. Even backyard birding has been curtailed due to rain. That said, this group of Common Grackles visited our feeder between cloudbursts. At a distance they appear to be a drab blackish brown, but in the right light their iridescent feathers are quite beautiful. They are opportunistic feeders and will eat almost anything. They are a bane to corn crops. Despite that, their numbers are in steep decline. The oldest bird on record was at least 23 when it was killed by a raptor in Minnesota in 1994 (Cornell Lab).
Some of you know that a small tornado passed through Port Saint Lucie in August. They recently published the track it took. While we knew it was close, we did not know it was this close!
