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Re: Boat-tail at Santee NWR-Bluff Unit



Mike-Your sighting of a female Boat-tailed Grackle at Santee NWR is very 
interesting. It certainly deserves a follow-up. The grackles may be extending 
their breeding range inland, along the large lakes constructed since the 
1930's. There is a breeding colony at the South end of Lake Moultrie 
(Chicora). Dennis Forsythe and others have seen Boat-tails around the 
Orangeburg Sod Farms in late summer, I believe. The females often nest on 
small islands of cattails and cut-grass. They usually choose sites that are 
patrolled by alligators, probably because the presence of alligators 
discourages snakes and mammals from swimming in the area. The female you saw 
may be the vanguard of a new colony.
Will Post