When I was at my local pond two days ago, I couldn’t resist photographing a female Great-tailed Grackle whose eyes seemed to be aglow in the morning light.

Female Great-tailed Grackle with her eyes aglow, Salt Lake County, UtahFemale Great-tailed Grackle with her eyes aglow – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f13, 1/125, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

This female Great-tailed Grackle had flown in and landed on the railing of a floating fishing platform that I was on. She was too close to me to take full-body photos, so I opted for taking portraits of her. The female grackle was slightly east of where I stood behind my tripod on the fishing platform.

When she was in my viewfinder, I couldn’t help but notice how her eyes glowed in the bright morning light.

This female grackle was searching for nesting materials, as were many of the other females I saw that morning. The male grackles in the area were displaying in the trees and on the ground.

I noticed a few female grackles perching in the trees where the males were displaying, but even then, they didn’t seem to pay much attention to the males at all. They did call a few times; I am not sure why, though.

The females were solely focused on building the nests where they will raise their young this year.

When I first moved to Utah, I didn’t see or photograph this grackle species very often. Since that time, I’ve seen these grackles breed near this local pond every year.

I enjoy having these fascinating grackles in my viewfinder and listening to their song and calls.

Last year at this time, I was primarily focused on the Common Loons that showed up at my local pond. Without the excitement of the migrating loons, I found time to focus on the grackles again!

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Great-tailed Grackle photos plus facts and information about this species.