A pair of Baltimore Orioles sit on a bird feeder specially designed to attract them. It holds two small glass cups filled with grape jelly. Next to the jelly cups are two halves of an orange secured on spikes. The birds chow down on the fruit. We refill it once or twice a day.

Lordly Livery: Baltimore Oriole

Last year in early May, a Baltimore oriole landed on the car in the driveway. He had just come back from the south and was looking for a place to call his own. He started singing to his reflection in the car window. His reflection didn’t sing back. He tried pecking at it, but something just wasn’t right. He gave up after a while and flew to the top of the owl sculpture where he perched for a few minutes, surveying the landscape. Presumably he was looking for a territory he could stake out and defend. He didn’t find what he was looking for on Owl Acres though and flew away, not returning for the rest of the summer.

This year we decided to help him out by hanging an oriole feeder. And it worked. Orioles came from near and far to sample our grape jelly and oranges.

The mature male Baltimore oriole has a black head with a long bill that is thick at the base and pointed at the end. They’re about the size of a red-winged blackbird with long legs, thick necks, and a wingspan of 9 to 12 inches. The back and wings are black with white wing bars. The breast, rump and underside of the bird is bright orange. The tail is orange with black streaks. Mating dances include lifting their wings to show off that bright orange plumage. Females, as usual, are duller in color, although older females may be as bright as the males because their coloring gets more pronounced with each molt.

The nest of the Baltimore oriole has been likened to an old sock hanging from a branch. This nest is unusual in that it hangs beneath the branch instead of sitting on the branch. the female selects a fork high in a tree and begins building her nest. She prefers American elms, but will settle for maples, cottonwoods or other similar deciduous trees. She starts by attaching fibers to the branches to hang her nest securely. Next she weaves a coarse outer layer to support the nest. When that’s done, she weaves another layer inside the first and finally a third inner layer of softer material. When she’s done, the nest is shaped like a hanging pouch. It is three to four inches deep with a small opening at the top. It is wider at the bottom with room for three to five eggs and nestlings. This hanging nest is a major undertaking, and she spends a week or more getting it done. She lays her eggs and then incubates them for a couple weeks before their occupants hatch, blind and hungry. It only takes a couple more weeks of being fed mostly insects by their parents before the nestlings are ready to leave home.

Baltimore orioles spend their winters in Mexico and on south. They return to Owl Acres in early May, raise one brood, and are ready to hightail it back south as early as late July or early August.

Our oriole feeder is stocked with grape jelly and oranges because our orioles love the ripest brightest fruits to supplement the nectar and the insects in their diet. They spend a lot of time gleaning insects from treetops, and catching insects on the wing. They eat a variety of pest species such as tent caterpillars and gypsy moth caterpillars, as well as a variety of other insects and spiders. As fruit such as cherries, mulberries, and raspberries ripen in late June and July, they start eating more fruit to power their early migration to the south. They can damage commercial fruit crops.

Native to North America, Baltimore orioles are not closely related to old-world orioles. They are closer cousins to new-world blackbirds and meadow larks. They reminded early settlers of the birds they left behind. In addition, their flaming orange and black coloration matched the heraldic colors of the Baltimore’s of old England. This made them double reminders of England left behind, thus the name.

Baltimore orioles have been in steady decline throughout their range. According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, numbers have declined by as much as 36 percent since 1966.  Loss of their favorite nesting trees to Dutch elm disease, loss of habitat and expanded use of insecticides have contributed to their decline.  Installing the oriole feeder and stocking it with grape jelly and oranges has worked to bring several Baltimore orioles to our yard. They’re fun to watch, and their bright whistling song adds a pleasant note to the soundscape.

Photo by Author. Alt text: A pair of Baltimore Orioles sit on a bird feeder specially designed to attract them. It holds two small glass cups filled with grape jelly. Next to the jelly cups are two halves of an orange secured on spikes. The birds chow down on the fruit. We refill it once or twice a day.

1 comment

  1. Enjoyed your little essay, Karen. In my teens we had a pair of Orioles nesting in a big Box Elder tree in our back yard. We always enjoyed their beauty of their song, a very pure whistle. Thanks for sharing.

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