The twists and turns of an ambitious young starling.
 

Have you a better way to go crazy?
 

I’m bewildered by a fierce and determined grackle,
his motivations murky, leaving unanswered questions
in his angry wake.
 

A fearless bundle of wings and fury
enough to set every bone a-tremble,
a grackle hangs tough.
 

A fledgling starling has an aggressive philosophy:
 

“In this life you gotta take what you want,
you can’t sit around waiting for
someone to give it to you.”

“This madness between us can’t go on any longer.”
“You despise me, don’t you?”
“If I gave you any thought I probably would.”
 

A male songbird clearly has a problem learning
to let go of a cute dame.

A feisty black-capped chickadee soars through
my backyard, competing with the other songbirds.
 

Males and females look very similar. If they don’t eat enough
during the short winter days, they have problems
lasting through the cold nights.

A fierce winter starling takes advantage
of the last rays of a cold dying sun.

A cold summer turned to a cold fall here,
no place for a spring goldfinch
looking for news from the sun.
 

A grackle leaps, sensing a slight dissonance in the wind, as if an imp was controlling the turbulence.
 

Common the grackle may be, here’s a black and white study of a hard-boiled backyard character, causing as many crimes as he solves.
 

Grackles are from the Icterid bird group, which includes orioles and meadowlarks.
 

An intense standoff in mid-air, two starlings scream and battle for control of the skies.