NATURAL DETROIT

Up In The Tree! Kingbird!

We've seen Eastern Kingbirds before, but took a little better pictures this time. 

Common Grackle Iridescent Everywhere

These birds are noisy and eat too much seed from our feeder.  They are so big, they almost knock over one of our feeders when they land on it. But, they are pretty when the light hits their feathers.  Common grackles will hunch on the ground and let ants crawl over their feathers.  "This is called anting, and grackles are frequent practitioners among the many bird species that do it. The ants secrete formic acid, the chemical in their stings, and this may rid the bird of parasites." (Cornell Lab of Ornithology).  I have not seen this yet, but will let you know when we do.