Rose breasted grosbeaks and Baltimore orioles

18 years ago

I have had both rose breasted grosbeaks and Baltimore orioles,both male and females at the feeder for the last 4-5 days.Thought the orioles had moved on but had one at the hummingbird feeder this morning.Also had a blue grosbeak.These are all birds that we don't usually see at the feeder.I did buy another sack of sunflower seed and am feeding later this year.Have one woodpecker who throws a lot of the feed to the ground and really makes a mess and wastes the feed!What unusual birds are you seeing at your feeder?Posy Pet

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Comments (13)

kaye
18 years ago
My husband saw a pair of Orioles yesterday..I saw a pair last year. They don't seem to stay long. We did have a female Rose Breasted Grosbeak at the suet feeder the other day but haven't seen a male yet. Our most exciting sighting was the Painted Bunting that came with two Indigo Buntings..all males and one female Indigo. They seemed to be hanging together. The Painted one rarely comes back but we've seen him for several days now now this year. I love my birds!
gldno1
18 years ago
We have a female oriole that eats at the hb feeder. We were so excited. We have never seen one here before. She has been here about two weeks now. I didn't know they just would move on. I sure hope a male shows up and she stays. The feeder is right outside my kitchen window and she will feed while I am standing about three feet from her.

GD
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I have two fountains/water features in the back gardens. One is a barrel sunk in the ground with a pump that pulls the water up and through the lips of a fairy statue, laying on her stomach with a seashell held to her lips (as if drinking and the water running off the edges of the shell as if she had just dipped it into the pool.) This one is a lot of work because I chose to have 3 gold fish in there. It takes a lot of care to clean the filter box that houses the pump and keep cleaned up the leaves and other debris that settles to the bottom of the barrel. I have to drain, clean and refill the thing at least twice a year (65 gallons.) It just takes more fussing to keep the fish healthy. The other water feature is a free standing two tiered fountain. It is made of cast metal and the bowls are aluminum. You have to take apart the fountain to access the pump if it needs cleaning, which is a bit of a bother but I have gotten pretty fast at it. The reason it needs a lot of cleaning is that the birds flock to it. They love the shallow bowls for bathing and they love the running water. It's a real bird magnet. The only problem is I am gone all day at work and so many birds use it that most days by the time I arrive back home it is low on water and humming (which is not good for the pump - I am on my 3rd replacement in about 8 years.) But I see so many birds and they love it in the middle of the rose garden. They eat bugs and dry off on the climbing rose arches. It's a constant parade and worth any amount of effort to see these jewels of nature enjoying themselves in my garden: ruby-throated hummingbirds, goldfinch, rose breasted grosbeaks, evening grosbeaks, baltimore orioles, indigo buntings, scarlet tanagers, purple finch, red-winged blackbirds and more. I no longer take this fountain inside for the winter. I usually lay it on its side and make sure it is thoroughly drained. Then I wrap it in a heavy plastic bag and leave it there in the garden til spring when I stand it back up, give it a good scrub and set it going again. As to the power, hoovb is so right. Make sure you have a GFCI weatherproof outlet to plug into. No other way is safe. RE: solar powered fountains, my sister went that route and now she has a plug-in type like me. Her solar one worked well when the sun was bright, but even a few clouds would drop the power on it (which of course means the water barely moved at all.) Her DH had even rigged the panel on a sort of lazy susan so it could be turned to get the optimal sun through the day - just a lot of bother! Plus, the solar panel did not last more than a few years and was initially more expensive. Good luck with which ever way you choose to go. I know you will enjoy this addition to your rose garden. I couldn't imagine mine without the sound of trickling water now! :-) Anne
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Last year I saw one male Rose Breasted GB. This year I saw 3 males and one female. Same with Oriols. Last year one male. This year 3. I think parents bring their offspring back with them. The GBs just pass through and nest further north, but the orioles nest here in NE Ok. My dad had one of the pendulous nests hanging from a tree in his front yard.
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Great pics, Claire! Where did you find the jelly jar holder? I've not seen one like that & would like to offer jelly that way. I've heard "my" orioles & seen an orange blur in the treetops but haven't had a good look yet. There have been orioles nesting in the same oak tree for at least 12 years, maybe longer. "My" chimney swifts are also back-no more fires for the season! Susan
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Way to go Rachel! I don't always post but ALWAYS read & enjoy your posts. I haven't had any takers at my Oriole feeder but have seen both the Baltimore & Orchard this season. Yesterday I saw my FOS Indigo bunting-they are such beauties! Another first was the sighting of the Blue-grey gnatcatcher nest. I was so excited but when I returned the very next day to show someone I couldn't find it-the leaves had come out just enough & plus it was very high up. Very few warblers for me yet this season but I'm still hopeful. Keep up the lovely photos & stories. I look forward to each & every one. Susan
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ceresone
18 years ago
i've had grosbeaks, and orioles for about 3 weeks now. i have 2 male orioles, but i've only seen one female. i adapted a hummimgbird feeder especially for them, but, i'm wondering if why they're staying so long here this year, could be the grape jelly i'm putting out for them. anyone else tried this? i read in the bird forum that it would attract them, but--has anyone ever had them stay in this area?
posy_pet
Original Author
18 years ago
I had never seen them before so got really excited when they came to the feeders.The oriole just got on my hummingbird feeder but it is different-shaped like a flying saucer.My neighbor has a real oriole feeder.The female rose breasted grosbeaks are drab-really ugly-my husband thought it was unkind when we said that!Posy Pet
MellieMag
18 years ago
I am so jealous of y'all having orioles! They are so beautiful. We had one at the hummer feeder last year for just an hour or so. Many years ago we saw one and bought an oriole feeder and never saw another one.

I'm going to look for another oriole feeder just to try to get them to come see us.

We've unfortunately had a lot of cowbirds this year.
china1940
16 years ago
I can't seem to attract the Baltimore Oriole, and I hate putting out orange slices, to see them dry up. We have lots of other birds such as the gold finches etc and one year we had a blue indigo.

Do ant get on the grape jelly and where do you put this grape jelly?
gldno1
16 years ago
china, I built a sort of platform feeder with a roof and nails to impale the oranges on and just dab the jelly on it. Didn't get ants last year at all.
christie_sw_mo
16 years ago
I had a couple hummingbird feeders up last year and they came to those, then I bought an oriole feeder and they liked that even better. After I started seeing them, I put orange slices on tree branches but didn't have a good place to put jelly. Last year is the first time I've ever had them stay around. They're sooo pretty. Hope they remember my house and come back this year. I just put up my oriole feeder yesterday. Had to look back at some old posts to see when they showed up last year and I think it was around May 1st.
missfourseasons
16 years ago
I also had one on my hummingbird feeder a couple of years ago. Put orange slices up all over the place but never saw them again ... Such beautiful birds those Orioles!
johnmcafee_99
15 years ago
Just saw my first Baltimore of the season. This year I am going to put up string all over the place. My neighbor has them nesting in his trees but he put out the normal stuff pluss the string. I think thats why he has them an I dont.
christie_sw_mo
15 years ago
This is only my second year to have Orioles and I've never seen a nest. John - Do you know what kind of trees your neighbor has that they like?
Last year, the Orioles stayed around for a little while and then disappeared so they must've nested in someone else's yard - not mine.
This year they showed up about a week earlier than last year. I've seen as many as 4 males at a time in our dogwood tree where I've been feeding them. The females aren't around as much and I've only seen two. Here's a picture of my "Orange Tree"

The darker one in the middle may be an Orchard Oriole. It was rainy. Here's a close-up of a Baltimore Oriole at the feeder.
gldno1
15 years ago
Christie, those are great pictures. This morning while my Sis and I were in town, our husbands counted 5 orioles and finally a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak here. I saw the grosbeak when we got back so we put out more seed for it.

I have never had the Orioles say very long either. Wish they would nest here.
Pat Z5or6 SEMich
3 years ago
I know this post is old but it is so refreshing that others love the RBGs and Orioles too.

Rose breasted grosbeaks and Baltimore orioles

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kaye

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Rose breasted grosbeaks and Baltimore orioles

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