Kaysville Pond, Davis County, Utah. Since posting, I received an e-mail from Martha Happ, who previously lived in Florida where the grackle's are plentiful. She said this "neck-craning" and "star-gazing" behavior the male is performing is part of their courtship behavior. Here, I thought he was just day-dreaming...maybe he was...just day-dreaming about spring and sex, on this very frigid December morning.