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Birding/Grackle behaviour....bizarre!

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Expert: - 5/23/2009


Question

guano001, guano002
I live in central Florida, and have a large lagoon-style pool in my backyard. The rest of the yard is butterfly garden wild, to encourage birds and butterflies.  Recently I noticed a large number of grackles in the area.  I (and guests to my home) have observed grackles placing their droppings along the edge of the pool. Not just "dropping", but placing with their beaks, fresh guano, in a regularly spaced configuration along one edge of the pool. The "droppings" are about 2 inches from the edge, and 4 or 5 inches apart. Can you give me first an explanation, and secondly, a way of changing this behaviour?? I have to clean the area several times a day.  Many thanks!

Answer
Grackles, as well as some other birds, take the feces of their young out of the nest to keep the nest clean. Often, they drop it in water - ponds, bird feeders, pools, etc. so that predators can't figure out where the nest is. There is no way of changing this behavior, but after the young leave the nest, this behavior will stop. Should be 10-12 days at most.

Roger Lederer

Expertise

Any and all about WILD birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.

Experience

Have a PhD and over forty years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, three bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 90 countries watching birds.

Education/Credentials
PhD in Zoology/Ornithology; Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences; former Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, Chico

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