Date: 10/27/26 9:15 am From: Kirk Suedmeyer <00000537a8cbbe82-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: Great tailed grackle observations
Agreed to all!- just make time to sit and watch!- last one here-
Watched a tiger beetle on an inverted stock tank crunching red spider mites off the surface like chiclets!- must have eaten at least a dozen- a little “over the top” with their chelicerae but worked for this one!... 😊
Kirk
From: Missouri Wild Bird Forum <MOBIRDS-L...> On Behalf Of Edge Wade
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2026 10:03 AM
To: <MOBIRDS-L...>
Subject: Re: Great tailed grackle observations
Great observations, both of you.
I've watched Carolina Wrens checking out car grilles and tire areas many times in many places.
And, I'm pleased to know that I'm not the only one to alter my behavior to accommodate the needs of "a lesser creature".
On Tue, Oct 27, 2026 at 9:52 AM Chris Barrigar <00000aef7a4c9477-dmarc-request...><mailto:<00000aef7a4c9477-dmarc-request...>> wrote:
I've witnessed the same behavior in Northern Mockingbirds, plucking insects off the grills of cars and carrying the squished insects back to their nests to feed young.
Yellow-throated Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds gleaning insects from spider webs located between parking lot lights and support poles. One day while birding early spring at Lake Wappapello's Eagle Point overlook, there was a midge hatch, and I watched a YT Warbler gleaning midges off my truck.
Tufted Titmouse cracking open and eating snails at Otter Slough Conservation Area was another eye-opening experience.
Birds are awesome!
I've also had a most cool experience with a Daddy Long Legs (Harvestman) spider that lived under the hood of my truck. One morning as I came out to drive to work, I saw said Harvestman on the windshield, "harvesting" the bug splats from my travels. I think I was late for work that day as I couldn't bring myself to disturb its breakfast. LOL! I saw it several more times in like fashion after that, then disappeared with the progression of winter. Nature is opportunistic, indeed!
While I was at conference in Oklahoma City last week, I watched two separate flocks of Great-tailed grackles, one in the parking lot at the conference center, and another loose-knit group at the zoo parking lot feeding on insects from the tire treads and undercarriage of parked cars. Each time a new car parked, several birds would fly and walk to the car and pick out insects and a couple times they also picked insects off fenders and grills. There were adults and fledglings. There was a line of trees most would fly into when significantly disturbed, and several with lost/shorter tails that I could see every day. Ingenious!
