Boat-tailed Grackles

At Hammonasset Beach State Park in Connecticut there has been a nesting pair of Boat-tailed Grackles this summer.  Their clutch has hatched but not yet fledged, providing the opportunity to observe the birds feeding the chicks.

We have plenty of Common Grackles in the area, but these Boat-tailed are very uncommon.

The male was content to hang around in a nearby tree and preen himself ...
 

... while the female was busily feeding the young.  Here she flew down to a watering place to quench her thirst inbetween runs for dragonflies, providing one of the only opportunities to capture her.
 

It should be noted that the male also feeds the young, but apparently this morning it was her shift.