Leah and I are trying to keep an eye on Ava for signs of stress or discomfort during our relocation. She seems to be doing pretty well, but we do get the sense that she’s off just a bit. So we’re trying to do fun things and get plenty of ice cream and read lots of books. But this evening, nature intervened and threw a wrench into our works.
Before heading off to dinner this evening, we were sitting in the dining room looking out into the back yard when a grackle dropped down on top of an unsuspecting sparrow and started attacking it. We all sat there in disbelief for a bit (at first it looked like they might be playing, but then I think we all realized at just about the same time that a grackle wouldn’t be playing with a sparrow).
Leah ran outside to shoo the bigger bird off its prey, but it only hopped a foot away and waited for her to come back inside, all the while the sparrow twisting and rolling in the dust, clearly very, very hurt. Then the grackle moved back in and carried the sparrow off into the tall grass at the back of the yard and proceeded to eviscerate it, bits of feather and other bird parts flying into the air with each quick thrust of the grackle’s long, needle-like beak.
Ava saw the whole thing. The whole scene probably lasted just about two minutes, and it’s a bit difficult to tell how Ava processed the event. As we got into the car to head to dinner, Ava confirmed that grackles are mean. Talk about a tough old bird….