




During a recent trip to a restaurant on King’s Bay in Crystal River, Florida, I walked out on the dock where boat-tailed grackles were having their dinner too. I watched them strike the water to snatch small baitfish from the water and perch on the posts and railings of the dock where these birds and devoured the sushi. Some grackles sat on a rope above a small raft of sea debris where they found other tasty morsels to eat. This species is omnivorous eating a wide variety of food including seeds, berries, insects, frogs and mollusks. I have seen them wade is shallow water to eat the small fish and tadpoles from the water, but it the first time I have observed them actually fishing from the air. Nature reveals amazing things when you take the time to see them.