Two First-of-Fall Birds

This Thrusday I was off of work and so I made a quick visit to the park. I would walk only from the culdesac on 73rd Ave. to the bridge and back. It was a quiet day with not a lot of wildlife activity. The first thing I spotted were a couple of Cardinals munching on the Buckthorn berries. Here in this area of the park there are always a handful of birds attracted to these berries. I've even recently seen the Junco's eating them. A little further down near the dried drainage ditch and big Cottonwoods, I spotted my first-of-fall European Starling. It's not all that exciting to see Starlings. I've been told that they are just 1 of only 2 birds that are not federally protected by the US Fish and Wildlife Service but I'm still trying to verify that. Starlings are indeed a non-native species that were introduced to the US from Europe in the 1800's. While watching the Starling, I could hear two other birds with a familiar "squawk" call. One of these for sure was a Red-winged Blackbird, but I could swear the other one was a Grackle –which I've not seen in some time now. I searched around everywhere trying to follow the sound to the bird, which is sometimes more difficult than you think. There he was, straight out from me and much higher than I thought the sound was, a Common Grackle. Slightly larger than a RWB and with bright yellow eyes, he appeared no different in plumage than when I'd seen them in the spring and summer.