Grackles: Today I missed you. A rare, below freezing day in Austin and you were nowhere to be seen or heard. I almost always see you and the gang hanging out on the electrical wires by the Shell station off Oltorf and IH 35, obviously a popular spot that only birds know why. But today, cold and silent, bare and barren. Like a grackle wasteland. Come. Back. And remind me of warmer days. read more

Wow, I'm totally in the minority here, but I think grackles are cool. That awesome, iridescent, so-black-it's-blue (or is it, so-blue-it's-black?) color on the male's feathers is beautiful. And I love how they get all puffed up and make that throaty courting noise when they're hitting on those grackle chicks. I mean, they aren't cardinals, or mockingbirds, or peacocks, but at least they're not pigeons. 3-1/2 stars in my book...I'm bumping them up a 1/2 star because I always stick up for the underdog. read more

Grakles...OK here's my grackle story. Walking up to the main terminal from the parking garage at ABIA airport i see massive hoards of...Grackles. All lined up on top of the building making all sorts of noise and doing other grackle stuff. It struck me that their sounds felt like they were all laughing at us. Why? Maybe cause they can fly and we cant and to laugh at us at the airport just rubs it in a little more...Who knows. So i kinda forget all about the little bastards as i pick up my sister and neice, visiting for Thanksgiving. Well, sis was kind enough to bring the flu with her from Atlanta which i promptly inhaled and kept around for the next 4 days. Then my boy gets it followed by the wife. Poor sis was quarantined at my mothers house for 5 days and that's no easy task folks. Epilogue: On the dreary ride back to the airport to drop them off after what had to be a Thanksgiving to forever forget...No more grackles. None. WTF. Now i got this crazy idea they were laughing at me the whole time and knew what i/we were in for from the start. Or at least its easier to blame them bastards for the Thanksgiving from hell than my sister. read more

Well done, my Dark Purple minions. Well done. Your positions of honor are waiting for you in my ghastly hellish realm. Many are the souls who await your anointing fecal balms. Anyway, I love you guys! Keep up the good work, and I'll send you the license plate numbers of the upcoming 2014 Yelp Elites as soon as I can. Extra points if you crap directly on them. LOL read more

I love grackles. The local variety here in Austin is the great tailed grackle, and there is some arguement as to whether or not they are native to the area, but climate change just has them moving further and further north into parts of the country that have never had the pleasure of having their french fries stolen while they are momentarily distracted. The calls the males make are wild. There's the machine gun, the car alarm, the FM static noise, the grinding wheel, the meandering whistle, and all manner of loud clicks and pops.. All the females seem to say are "MEH!" I have noticed that the females are the most courageous, being the most likely to fly to the same table as you at Whole Foods and stare you down as if to say, "as soon as you leave, that chiabata roll is mine!" My cat is a great serial killer of birds, but she has yet to get her claws in one of these guys. They spot her coming, and will post a sentry over her who will periodically send out a call to let the others know where she is and what she's up to. I've seen them take my dog's food, and drop it in his water bowl to soften it up before eating it. Of course, he learned very quickly that trying to chase them off is futile. They are much more patient than he is, and are perfectly happy to wait for him to doze off. They are perfectly suited to life in the city, and survive not by virtue of their good looks or cute calls like the pigeon, but by brains and teamwork. During breeding season, the males will puff themselves out and do a bunch of funny dances and calls for the lady grackles, who look like they could care less. The males will also stand around each other and see who can stick their beaks higher in the air, in some strange machismo contest. They have provided me with hours of entertainment, and I love them. They should be the official bird of Austin. read more

I love grackles...they are hilarious and bold. If you ever move away, trust me, you'll miss them. To me they are Austin incarnate. They're quirky, they're entertaining, they make music and they descend in hoards near 6th street and the drag. read more

Grackles - Local Flavor Near Me

Poop on my car a thousand times, will you? Well played, dirty birds. Well played. Gather in downtown trees and power lines just to make everyone nervous? I'll park 3 more blocks away just to keep away from your perch. Yeah, you better fly away before I shake my fist again. One of my favorite grackle memories was fresh after a big hail storm that totalled my car they had shat on the day before. The Trudy's North Star parking lot was full of dead grackles. Literally hundreds of them. I laughed maniacally for a full minute. Ice: 1 Grackles: 0 While writing this I see the multiple choice below; Good for kids: Yes (5 votes) Hah! read more

There is this bar. Behind this bar, there is a patio. Shading this patio, there be a tree. Up high in this tree what do I see? The dapple of afternoon sun. The hazy green of summer. The simple beauty of nature- a single bird's nest. and then. sinister watchful hungry- the red, baleful eye of the grackle his handiwork splashed artlessly across our table. read more

Every time I see you, I get this crazy Hitchcockian sensation. Quite frankly...you creep me out. ...I'd give you more stars if you were at least edible. read more

The grackles in Cedar Park are a bit more conservative than the Austin grackles. Only a bit...many Austin grackles are actually conservative, but they don't want to own up to it because they're supposed to be 'weird'. The rare suburban subspecies prefer larger cars to poop on and tend to squawk loudly about their chicks to anyone and everyone who happen to be within listening distance. It's not unusual to see "My chick is an honor student" stickers attached to trees and telephone poles in the area. Suburban grackles typically congregate in areas of large franchises, such as Target, McDonald's, and Chuck E. Cheese. It's also not unusual to see them gathering on the telephone lines of mega-churches every Sunday. read more

This is literally the worst experience I have had in over 10 years in any state. The doorman literally had ZERO professionalism for his position. First, he insisted I was inebriated when I had in fact only had 3 beers over a 6 hour period (while eating). I thought he was joking and said ok and walked away from him but when I turned back I was shocked to see he was serious. I walked back and said are you serious, and told the bartender I was willing to take any sobriety test he wanted to administer expect stating the ABCs backwards because I can't do that sober (seriously). Today's date is November 2nd and it is 7:00 PM. Whoever the doorman is there had ZERO professionalism and was smoking outside in the public area while making these assertions (not sure if this is an issue here or not for the laws in Texas). I would rather PayPal you $3 to go to anywhere else in the state than this establishment that thinks this poor level of professionalism is acceptable. read more

Grackles are the song that unites the city. Whether you love them or hate them, the ATX would never be the same without the taco raptors.

Grackles, first, thank you so much for giving us this forum to say how we really feel! Grackles I used to love to feed you at Central Market! You were so funny and fought over half a crumb and I thought it was so cute! We were just fascinated by your squawking and fighting and liked to sit down with a local brew and be entertained by your fascinating mating rituals with sounds that might be compared to those of a cat at midnight under your window. I don't know why we found that entertaining. In an attempt to love peace and coexist we made monsters of you! If I could give MINUS 10 gazillion stars I WOULD but YELP MAKES ME GIVE AT LEAST A ONE!!! I have NO IDEA how people are giving you good reviews! I think you must have paid them for these positive reviews! We thought you were excruciatingly hungry normal birds. You present yourself as a bird but you are a bully! I was so nice to you and laughed with my children as we fed you fries. But I realized that every time I find a shady spot that is miraculously left open to park my car, you FIND MY CAR AND CRAP ALL OVER IT!!!! Well let me tell you I am WOKE to your games! You are the Bain of Austin! You murder song birds and have a TWENTY YEAR lifespan!!! LEAVE THEM AND THEIR NESTS ALONE you MURDERERS! STOP CRAPPING ON MY CAR WHEN ITS THE SHADE AND MAYBE I WILL REDO MY REVIEW!!! YOU are the reason we have no songbirds in Austin you assholes! You need to THINK about how you are treating us and BE NICE! Right now, even though I love animals, I think Mayor Adler should call a moratorium on you!! (Parody review making fun of some yelp reviews but yes, there are too many grackles) Thanks again for the opportunity to share my views! Hopefully this review will wake up one person who was a deceived like I was! read more

Grackles, Thanks for helping to ruin Highland Mall (note I said helping). Thanks for making me cautiously dash to my downtown destinations. Thanks for dissuading me from walking the drag after 5 pm. And thanks for crapping on me when I was on lunch break from Senior lab about 4 years ago. read more

Grackles rock! Yes, they may be LOUD and MESSY, but so is rock n' roll! I've rediscovered my love of grackles since moving back to Austin and seeing them everywhere. I think they kick the cardinal's ass. Edit: Just discovered that Great-Tailed Grackes are from Mexico, which means that some people will hate them even more, but makes me like them even more. Yes, they follow "disturbed environments" - and who is doing the disturbing? You suburban humans! read more

Great-tailed grackle Quiscalus mexicanus The male great-tailed grackle is a large blackbird that appears purple-glossed. He averages approximately 45 cm in length and has a long ample tail. A potential identification problem exists between the boat-tailed grackle and the great-tailed, but the tail of the great-tailed tends to be wider and longer. The female is brown with a pale breast, and averages 35 cm in length. Both sexes have distinctive yellow eyes as adults Early in the spring males establish small territories and begin the process of attracting females. The breeding is polygynous, and the females nest in the territory of one male. Several females will nest in a single male's territory, and mate with him. First year males are excluded from breeding but young females are not. The main display is the "ruff-out" which is accompanied by a song. In the "ruff-out" the tail is fanned while the body feathers are ruffed and the head is arched upwards as it sings. The wings are drooped and quivered or held out towards the sides. The male courtship display differs in that it is more exaggerated, the bill is pointed down rather than up, and the wings are rapidly quivered while the bird produces distinctive "cheat" notes. The female may respond by drooping and quivering the wings as the tail is cocked and gives "che" calls. The breeding season begins in early April. Nesting occurs in colonies of few to thousands, with the nests placed close together. The males tend to avoid confrontation with low key disputes. The females will fight over the choice of nest sites, and will steal nest building materials from one another. Clutch sizes tend to average 3 to 4 eggs, and females incubate them for 13 to 15 days. The young are born altricial and leave the nest at 20 to 23 days Great-tailed grackles prefer to roost and forage in large groups, particularly in the non-breeding months. In the winter foraging tends to occur in single sex groups. The great-tailed grackle is known to eat insects, lizards, aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates, fruit, grain, and grass seed. They are also known to remove and eat ectoparasites from livestock. Male nestlings appear to require more food than females of the same age. read more

Grackles are easily among the things I miss most about Austin since moving away a couple years ago. The sound of their cackling contributed to Austin's unique and weird sense of place. read more

I like to sit in the shade and look into their beady, vacant little yellow eyes, pondering what worries they have, and acknowledging that my own midbrain is about as advanced as theirs. Thank god for frontal lobes. I don't think I could find fulfilment if all I did was shriek and shit all over people's cars. I mean, it would be funny at first, but the novelty would surely wear off quickly. read more

I learned something new from Google today: there are two definitions for "gregarious". For people, gregarious means fond of company or sociable. For animals, it means living in flocks or loosely organized communities. Why does that matter? Wikipedia says grackles are gregarious. If you have ever seen two grackles in proximity -- and if you have been in Austin for more than five minutes, you have -- you know grackles congregate for the sole purpose of arguing and fighting. It's like being in a big Italian family. I guess they must *like* getting together, but sheesh, what a racket! read more

Greasy grimy birds Rats of the sky Annoying patio diners Crapping on cars Kidnapping small dogs Legs sometimes missing Eye(s) always beady Still...a part of Austin read more

Were they a problem at 6th and Lamar before the mega-Whore Foods was there? I don't recall that they were... (?) The Highland Mall grackle scene is an actual horror movie, reminiscent of the feeling of some circle of Hell. They also appear to enjoy the Olive Garden. I think they can sense evil and that's why they flock around those three places. read more

I love the royal grackles! I admire how these birds have so much personality. They are brave, intelligent, comical, resourceful, curious, cunning, adaptable, eccentric, beautiful and they enjoy the sense of community. They are so much like the people of Austin. I think they should be the Texas state bird and the official bird of AUSTIN. I read the article in the Texas Monthly, Eight Reasons Grackles are Awesome by John Nova Lomax. http://www.editorialobm.com/OBM/Colombia/Cartagena/LaHeroica/tabid/303/language/en/Default.aspx I can hear the 7 Passions in there calls, Love, Hate, Fear, Courage, Joy, Sadness, and Anger. Therefore, I love to hear their various songs. I really don't get how people don't like them. read more

I'd give them no stars if I could. I remember a while back when some of them just started dropping dead. I wouldn't mind if they all went away. We have tons of beautiful birds in Austin but these birds are like rats with wings. read more

Grackles are great when battered and fried. The chipotle ranch dipping sauce is what really makes a difference. They are also available in zipcodes other than 78704. (oh and thanks for crapping all over my car. It took 2 car washes and a lot of elbow grease to get the crap off. ) read more

Cockroaches of the sky... I've had to physically fight you twice now for my food and although you are cunning and strong, I am bigger than you and have opposable thumbs. Ok, how about we work out a deal-I'll leave you alone and let you steal the crumbs or my leftovers if you will please just quit attacking me and my food when I'm eating outside? P.S. I hate you. read more

Grackles are awesome. They excrete their stinky poop on everything and don't care who or what it lands on. They're loud and not afraid to scream and cry and yell and have a hissy fit in public. They make the funniest noises and do the funniest dances and they're pretty birds - at least the male ones are. The females aren't half as enjoyable to watch. But what I love most about the grackles is when they all get together at Highland Mall and poop and scream and spook everyone there. That's just neat. read more

Grackles - GrackCon '97 @ Highland Mall - Local Flavor Near Me

I sort of love your sound and your big, fan-tailed plumage - kind of - except you small ones; but the shit! Oh, the shit! My car!

Dear catch-playing funny-looking puppies, Thank you for playing catch with me at Thunder Clouds. If I toss up a piece of my sandwich, you can always catch it mid-air. It's quite impressive. However, you were seriously encroaching on my territory the other day when I was trying to have a picnic. Not cool, dudes. There's a time and a place for playing catch, keep-away, and other puppy games. Sincerely, Meredith PS - You kinda freak out my kitten. Work on that. read more

Oh grackles, you are so unbearably ugly and you shit on everything you see. But sometimes when things get dull, there's nothing better than watching a couple of you go at it over a crusty bread crumb, circling each other with puffed up feathers and charging at your opponent to call his bluff. Bets have been known to be taken on who will win that last tiny morsel so it's kind of like cockfighting without the cruelty. read more

Grackles & their grackle babies. They *will* divebomb your head if you get in between them. Multiple times. Be especially wary of where you park in the North Central Market parking lot. If you park near any trees (and how can you not when the sun brings the internal temp in your car to 130 within 1/2 an hour?) you have a very good chance of having a birdshit bomb explode on your car while you're gone and/or be attacked by Grackle Mama because Grackle Baby has fallen from it's baby Grackle nest. True story. read more

Worst bird ever. Please shut up. No one cares. kthxbai PS--My birthday is coming up, a pet hawk would be a wonderful gift. read more

Beautiful, inventive, majestic. Truly what makes Austin great.

Hey! What's with all Grackle hate? Poor grackles.... I love the sounds they make. It's fun to watch them sharpen their beaks on all of the brand new cars, too! : ) read more

It dive-bombed my head and scared the bejesus out of me. Then I cried because it wouldn't stop and got tangled in my hair. Then it dive-bombed the dog. Two stars because you eat crickets and those mothers are gross. read more

Grackles, Grackles everywhere and not a drop to drink. Just so you know Grackle, I don't appreciate you stealing my chip and pooping in the salsa. Also, you shouldn't eat Sweet n' Low packets, they are bad for you. The last time I parked by Republic Square Park, and you completely covered my car with your poo, was probably a result of eating all the sweet N' Low. read more

Oh, grackles. As a small child I would listen in fascination to your bizarre calls. As a young adult, I would curse you as I ran from my car to my crappy Highland Mall job. As a slightly older adult, I enjoy watching you torment hipsters with your poop and aggressive ways at Whole Foods. So overall, I approve of you, grackle. Five stars for you. read more

We call that special time of day "Grackle Hour." Especially outside of Central Market Westgate, when the entire parking lot becomes a swarming mass of grackling black noise. It's really quite amazing, and, in my opinion, much more interesting than the Mexican Brown-Tailed bats, which get SO much attention. I think the grackle needs a bit more recognition as Austin's Bird. Their subtle iridescence is especially striking and their sound is truly unique. read more

During my recent visit to Austin, I was hanging in our fabulous B&B, surfing Yelp for some good Local Flavor and stumbled upon the hilarious grackle reviews. Laughing at what surely must have been hyperbole, I thought that surely these little things couldn't be much worse than the crows we have in our Portland neighborhood. But later that afternoon, a beady-eyed little vulture emerged from a pack of his pigeon cronies with an eye on my Kebabalicious gyro. I could tell he would take it right out of my kung-fu grip if I didn't take the offensive. I employed some swift kicking motions and eventually the threat subsided. He (she?) went off to regurgitate something to one of his buddies. I could tell from the shrill he let out that he would have rather been regurgitating my gyro and that I was now on his $hit list (literally). It was a long, tense walk back up Congress to the car that day. read more

Kind of wanna give you 1 star, but you're really a 5 star bird. You shit (massively) on my car, swoop down and steal a chip right out of my migas, and there was once a battle so fierce between 2 of your kind in my backyard that ended with the the corpse of one of you on my roof. You squawk. SO MUCH. You scheme. You stare. Sometimes you invade H-E-B and make grocery shopping a little creepy. And yet, I can't help but admire you. Why? Because you don't give a f. You unapologetically do what you wanna. Honey badgers of flight. Grackles keep grackling. read more

I don't know if this is a review but I am looking for grackle lovers and haters, poets and jokesters, foodies or not so foodies, to be interviewed on the grackle bird. Any of the people on this blog train would be great. This is for a short documentary film called, What Do They Want? I am producing/ directing/ editing along with Erik Mauck. If interested in being interviewed, please email me here. Thanks, Karen Bernstein, Austin TX read more