grackle trees

I have memories of living on campus and hearing the grackles in the trees, deafening with their squawks, all evening long. They used to shoot blanks into the din to scare them away, but every evening, the grackles would come back.

The last several years, I've wondered aloud what happened to the grackles. No longer do I hear their constant noise or the air guns meant to dissuade them, and others have noticed the change, as well.

It turns out, the grackles haven't gone anywhere -- they've just chosen another side of campus to live on.