Common Grackle

This is the first/only grackle I've set eyes on here this winter. I have no idea what that means - other than the obvious which is that we've had such a snow free winter they've been able to find food without resorting to visiting my café.

But of course, what he really was here for today was the highly competitive downhill run and peanut grab. This reporter tried and failed to catch him on his first run, but was lucky enough to catch one shot of his final run. The actual peanut grab was almost too quick to see, much less photograph, but this photo of his final approach should give you some idea of his speed, I hope.  It was a hotly contested race, with the blue jays in the lead until this last run, but he managed to pull out a win by the slimmest of margins. Congratulations to Mr. Grackle for his incredible gold medal performance!