Interesting. Grackles, as I remember from a piece in Audubon magazine, have
suffered massive setbacks due to pesticides. Thanks for your reply.
*Tanya Beyer*
On Wed, Mar 18, 2026 at 11:03 AM Dan Ahlman <daahlman...> wrote:
> I have been seeing Red winged black birds regularly in the twin cities. I
> haven’t seen a grackle yet.
> Dan Ahlman
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Mar 18, 2026, at 10:00 AM, Tanya Beyer <epiphaniesafield...>
> wrote:
> >
> > It's been on my mind each day lately that this is the first March when I
> > have yet to see a single blackbird. I live way north between Virginia and
> > Cook, but even so had felt that someone in counties to the south would
> have
> > posted their first of season sighting of our common blackbirds. They have
> > by this time normally come a few at a time to our feeders. Reports are
> that
> > they're dying off due to neonicotinoid and other pesticides. By now--how
> > drastic is this die-off? How late due to weather are many other spring
> > arrivals?
> >
> > *Tanya Beyer*
> >
> > http://www.epiphaniesafield.com > >
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