Bushtits and Orioles build hanging basket nests of organic plant fibers. Hard for you to imitate. Black Phoebes build cups of mud and fiber. Again, hard to imitate. Thrushes build typical open nests. None of the above birds use birdhouses. The real way to attract birds to your garden: Birds need three things: shelter food water Plants can provide the shelter AND food. You supply the water. SHELTER Shelter can be trees, shrubs, heavy vines, especially the dense and prickly kinds such as Pines. A windbreak of trees, in particular, provides a calm haven for tiny birds (such as Bushtits). 2. FOOD Food for birds can be fruits such as holly berries, Pyracantha berries. Or seeds such as sunflowers, Cosmos, Cornflower/bachelors buttons, certain grasses. Or nectar from flowers for hummingbirds: bells (fuchsia) tubular things on sticks (e.g., Penstemon) cup-shaped or saucer-like flowers clustered flowers (e.g., verbenas) filamentous cups (e.g. eucalyptus; also attracts bugs, which songbirds love) You also can put out bird food for the seed eaters WATER Traditional bird baths Or dig a hole in the ground and fill it with concrete with some kind of drip contraption Moving water (doesnÂt have to be deep) is especially great. Birds REALLY like dripping water. -- several devices are available that can be connected to your garden hose to create continuous dripping including sprays/misters Be resourceful. WHEN IT COMES TO PLANTING: 1. Create diversity Plant a lot of different things 2. Emphasize native trees, shrubs, and flowers 3. Provide shade for birds use clusters of different kinds of small trees 4. Layer up. Use tall trees, small trees, shrubs, and annuals and perennials to create layers of growth, which birds can use for a multitude of purposes. 5. Think big. Put in masses of the birdÂs most favored species, not just one or two plants. Lawns arenÂt the best environments for birds and butterflies (although REALLY large lawn areas seem attractive to ROBINS, KILDEER, and PIPITS). If you do have a lawn and plan to keep it, mow it high; maybe even let some of it -- the edge -- go fairly un-mowed, especially during the migration seasons (spring -- peaking April here and fall -- peaking early October here). 7. allow for some roughness around the edges (in addition to the edges of the lawn). Let flowers go to seed. Allow hedges to go a little informal. Allow leaf litter to build up under shrubs and trees. Some leaf litter in your planting beds will ensure a good supply of earthworms, insects, and other animals for ground-feeding birds (especially thrushes). 8. If you use non-native plants, do NOT use weedy exotics that spread by seed (e.g.: Nicotiana glauca, Lonicera japonica). 9. If you want fruit trees, there is a trade off: if you plant them for yourself, net them to protect them. If you plant them for the birds, donÂt count on getting ANY for yourself. 10. Create a dust bath for the birds -- leave a few square feet of bare area (no plants, no cover, and no mulch). Stop spraying broad-spectrum pesticides -- particularly diazinon and dursban. 12. Plant for all seasons. Select a variety of plants to provide a year-round supply. 13. Learn more about local bird species. Join an Audubon chapter near you. 14.. Encourage your neighbors to plant for the birds, as well. Link up patches of habitat to provide the maximum benefit for wildlife suffering from shrinking native habitat. Joe

Yes. They looked pretty cramped. That's what prompted me to buy an oriole feeder. The ooded oriole male is on the right and a bullock's oriole on the left. Pictures from last year.

I like to see oriole birds..their distinct color makes them attractive. @bob414 beautiful pic of oriole bird you have share here.

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