Hello all,

I was on a birding/fishing outing this morning at Sunset Beach Community 
Pier off of Stoney Creek in Northern AA County, and observed a Common 
Grackle literally fall from the sky in mid-flight into the water. 

I saw it fly over my head, in apparantly normal flight and noted its 
presence. I then looked up again to see its legs extended and its body, 
with wings extended, falling in a circular motion toward the water. It hit 
water about 20 feet off of the pier. I'm sure it was either sick or 
injured, and the way it fell was direct and straight.

I thought it was dead as I watched it float, but then I noticed its head 
moving!  Further examination revealed that its wings and tail were fanned 
out, apparantly keeping it afloat (?). Even more, every few minutes, it 
would lunge forward, wings flapping, in an attempt to fly, but it just 
ended up "swimming" in circles. 

I attempted to rescue it, but by the time I got a net, the bird had drifted 
too far away. I watched it for about 30 minutes, as it drifted into the 
cove, closer to land.  

I do not know if it made landfall, but I think the experience was odd 
enough to report.  Any thoughts on this?  Anyone ever seen something like 
this?

Best to all,

Matt Grey
Pasadena and Roland Park