ML646517586

Observation details

I watched part of the regular evening flight from the northeast into the trees on the south side of Dry Creek Drive, directly across from Creekside Golf Course. Hundreds of Great-tailed Grackles stage in these trees nightly prior to going to roost in the vegetation surrounding the golf course ponds. When I arrived there were many - hundreds - of grackles already perched in the trees. I counted by individuals, fives, and tens as they flew in by numerous small flocks to join them already in the trees. My total of 285 seen in flight is conservative, as grackles were continuing to fly in as I left that location. I also took two photographs of some of the trees with staging Great-tailed Grackles. Upon counting the grackles in these photos, I arrived at a total of 381 in these trees alone. Making lowball estimates of grackle numbers in other trees and those that flew in afterwards, there were at least another 150 present and very likely many more than that. That brings my estimated total to about 520 Great-tailed Grackles.