Scene from Hitchcock's "The Birds" - I have only seen a couple

[schmuls]

of grackles in the whole 3 and a half years at my house. But yesterday in the late morning, I looked out the back window and saw about at least 50 of them! They were all over the bushes, bird feeders, ground, even on my patio table. My cat was mesmerized. Then one of the dogs next door would run up to the fence, and they would scatter. This went on 3 or 4 times before they finally left for good. Any idea why this would happen, or did one of them just now see the feeders and they all followed?

[XemaSab]

1. They're finished breeding

and they've grouped into wintering flocks.

[schmuls]

2. That's interesting...I live in Southeastern Wisconsin. Do Grackles

migrate anywhere?

[vireo]

3. I'm also in s.Wisconsin

Almost all of our Grackles will be gone by winter, moving on to the southern states where they will stay until next April.

[TaleWgnDg]

4. Pity. Those damn birds don't stay there year 'round! Eh.

However, the winter range of common grackles



is a tad bit more extensive than what you cite. Cornell's Lab of Ornithology "All About Birds" states that common grackles winter range is from southern Minnesota and southern New England southward.
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Common_Grackle_dtl.html#range





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edited to add some Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology urls re grackles:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/urbanbirds/BirdGuide/ubs_UBPGuideCommonGrackleEN.html
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Common_Grackle.html
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Common_Grackle_dtl.html