After the rains:

Dax

I just love Orioles, I so wish that they would come visit my backyard but I haven't heard of any coming to my area of the country. Has anyone else in MA ever been visited by Baltimore Orioles?

Thank you so much for sharing these great photos!

Linda

i live on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. we don't get the Baltamore orioles here but do get the Bullocks Orioles and this week we got two males and a female oriole. also had two different hummingbirds arrive and a couple western tanagers a black headed grosbeak and two Lewis's woodpeckers. So i guess the spring migration is in full force here.

Ours got here 2 days ago, and today the Grosbeaks showed up:)

I was at a bird store yesterday and the guy there said the orioles had arrived day before yesterday and that place is north of me a little bit. So, it would seem that maybe I missed them these last few days.

Congratulations everyone. My bluebird pair is back, and, I'm happpy about that. Purple martins will be my next adventure, but, next year. I found a 12 room aluminum house that comes with a 16' pole for a total of 93 dollars, but I just don't think it will hold up to the winds here. I'll link it up for you guys.

Dax

Here is a link that might be useful: Martin House

It seems to me that that house would get too hot for the birds.

I may build one. That was my first consideration after searching and seeing how much these things cost; then I came across that one. If you look at it closely, all that holds the house to the pole is a 50-cent clamp. Well, I could be wrong, the thing would probably last a decade.

Dax

Good deal, thanks for the report Dax. I'll know to be on the lookout for them.

tj

Yes sir, Tommy.

Dax

Lindama, absolutely Baltimore Orioles come to Mass.! I've had a nest in the big Pin Oak above my bird feeders for the past 3 years. I didn't really notice them at first, but last year I watched them more closely and actually have video (not great quality) of the female weaving the nest. I also reported some of the sightings and nesting events to Mass Audubon Oriole Project the past 2 years.

Orioles also love the big Silver maples in my yard and next door neighbors, and spend time in the canopies every Spring so there must be some food source there. I do not put out an Oriole feeder, so they msut be attracted to the yard because of the mature trees and the numerous Crabapples and native plants, where they glean insects, as well as they enjoy the bird baths.

Haven't seen a sign of them yet this year.

Thank you terrene, it's good to know that they do visit the area, now I will be more on the lookout for them. You are so lucky to have them nest in your backyard. What area of MA are you in, I'm Northwest of Boston, on the Leominster/Ashburnham border. I will keep my fingers crossed that I get a visit from these beautiful birds.

Linda

Linda I'm about 20 miles northwest of Boston, along route 2, so you are probably about 30 miles farther west than me, so same general area.

It's ironic I should read this thread today, because I just heard a Baltimore Oriole outside in the Pin Oak! It is a short call, I heard it on Allaboutbirds.com under "Single-note whistled call". The Oriole moved to another canopy tree and was calling some more.

They are such loud birds they're hard to miss once you become familiar. I wonder if he/she calling for a mate and if they will nest in the Pin Oak again?

I'm in MA also, in Plymouth, and the first Baltimore Oriole of the season arrived in my yard today. He nibbled on the orange slice in the feeder but apparently didn't notice the jelly dish under the overhang.

I see them every year here. They don't nest in my yard; I think they nest down the hill near the pond (I once saw an oriole nest there), but they come up for snacks. The adults will bring the fledglings to the feeders.

This is a new feeder this year, so I don't know yet whether it will be as popular as the jam feeder was (the same as the one Dax shows). It fell apart last year after much use so I'm trying the new one.

Claire

I'm still waiting. Western Chicago Suburb. Have my grape jelly out for quite sometime. Last year was the first year I tried to attract the Orioles, and I was happy as I could be when they came. Does anyone know if they come back to the same location every year? In other words, can I be pretty sure I'll get them back this year again or is it just hit or miss? Any information is welcomed. Thanks.

I'm going to look for an Oriole feeder, put it up and see what happens.

Linda

West Allis, WI here. I don't want to spend money just yet on an oriole feeder as I don't know if they'll come. For now I have some orange slices in my suet cage. We'll see if they come.

GoldfinchGuy- I've had them feed on my hummingbird feeder. Since hummers are here too I'm setting that out, oranges and likely jelly.

tj also in W.A.

T.J. I had a hummer come and inspect my feeder yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately it didn't stop to feed.

I have to say that it is reassuring to hear that orioles are indeed in our neck of the woods!

Re: jelly feeders:

Last year I bought 3 of them sometime around June if I remember correctly. I filled each of them with different flavors of jelly and hung the feeders, then returned to my house. In 15 minutes I had (4) Orioles.

Dax

Orioles arrived in Western Chicago suburb Friday, 5/4. Yippee! They are sooooooo beautiful, and I just love them!
All they ever eat is the grape jelly. Anyone have any idea why they don't eat the nectar and oranges I put out?
Barb

This is great Dax, I'm glad for you and others seeing this bird,.. I find them such elusive and hard to get a shot at.

I'm also in MA, about 20 miles west of Boston. I get Orioles every year, but they are late this year. I saw my first hummingbird at the feeder today, and they usually arrive around the same time as the hummingbirds, so maybe I'll see one soon. I have grape jelly out for them. I have tried the Oriole feeders, but they ignore them. They love the grape jelly though. So far the only thing eating the grape jelly is the catbirds. The carpenter ants also get into the jelly, but the catbirds just gobble them up too.

From what I've read so far, grape jelly seems to be the way to go as far as attracting these birds. I've had some orange slices in a suet cage out for several days now with no takers. This morning I hollowed out an orange half, tossed the pulp in a dish, scooped some jelly in the orange rind and set that next to the fruit. Threw in some overripe banana slices for good measure and set the dish on my patio table in the yard. Keeping my fingers crossed...

Last year, the orioles preferred apricot preserves and peach preserves to grape, but they'd eat them all (in the jelly jar feeder). Orange slices were iffy, as if some birds liked them, others not.

The new feeder isn't very successful yet. I have the orange slices and a grape/blackberry jelly that came with the feeder. I saw a catbird yesterday at the feeder but no comeback.

I may try a hollowed orange half like GoldfinchGuy did, filled with jelly. I hope they're just busy with setting up their territories and nests and will come back later. Maybe I'll get some cheap apricot preserves and try that for now.

Claire

over the years i have tried all kinds of jelly and jams and it varies from bird to birds which flavor goes best. we canned a case of apricot jam two years ago and it went very well. the generic brand of strawberry and grape work well for me too. the blackberry and raspberry is too expensive here but they do love it. i tried some orange marmalade that was on sale cheap but the birds mostly ignored it.

A lot of inexpensive jams and jellies contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is bad for humans, bees, and most likely birds. I'd stick with organic or homemade preserves, made with sugar.

The orioles are here in Vermont and I used to see them in the Boston area when I was a kid.

Well there is definitely a pair of Orioles that is resident in the yard. I can't tell where they're going to nest at this point, but they are chasing other birds out of the big Pin Oak, Silver maple, and Linden tree which surround the house. They are acting very territorial.

I've noticed that fragments of the previous Oriole nest hang in the tree for over a year. Today the female Oriole was pulling on those fragments and it's possible she is collecting them, but I couldn't tell. Perhaps she is recycling her nesting materials!

Saw an Oriole on 5/4. He came repeatedly to my jelly feeder and was "calling" for two days. They he just came to the feeder to eat. I never saw more than one at a time (like last year). He kept coming back and eating jelly until yesterday a.m. I never did see any females. I haven't seen him now in over 24 hours. What do you experts think? Is he gone and not coming back? Dax, you are the expert. Do you see them in groups or just one at a time and have you ever not seen them for a couple of days and then had them come back? I am heart sick. I just love them. Thanks. Barb

I see them 2 at at time. This year and it's early, I see only one and it's the same bird to the best of my knowledge. Last year though, I cannot count the endless days where 2 were perching at the same time. Mornings they are most prevalent, however, afternoons I see glimpses of them, as well.

Here I am typing at 6:10 am and he just showed up:

Happy Smiles:)

Thanks Konrad :-)

Dax

Last year, my first sighting there were 4 males on various parts of the feeder. Then I saw a female here and there several days later and for the next month. I saw females in the bird bath, scratching straw from a hanging planter on my deck for nes
ting material, etc. This year I only saw the one. I am thinking now it was the same bird. He did this "calling" for the first two days. I think he was trying to find a female. Then he stopped "calling". I assumed he found a mate and was just eating the jelly. Now he seems to be gone. I sure do hope he comes back. I enjoyed them so much last year. The feeder is right outside my kitchen window and they are just so beautiful. I'll keep the feeder ready in hopes.....Barb

Renk, I hope the Orioles will come and visit your feeder regularly. Perhaps they are nesting in your neighborhood somewhere? Apparently their preferred nesting habitat is an open woodland, with canopy trees spaced apart, which describes my yard exactly. They spend most of their time up in the tree tops, so watch for them up there.

I was reading the Allaboutbirds.org website on Baltimore Orioles last night because I wondered about their nesting habits, and come to find out, the female does indeed recycle the nesting materials from old nests!

They also recycle my wife's clothesline whether she's through with it or not.

That's a great photo, Bob.

Dax

Thanks Dax. It was windy and the wind was blowing the line around and I felt lucky to get her if focus.

LOL Bob! great capture!

I actually saw the female come down to my tray feeder last night. I lined the bottom of the tray with screening, and "sewed" it on with fishing line, however after 5 years the fishing line is coming loose. The female was trying to pull the fishing line off, but wasn't having any luck!

You guys are LUCKY!

All I can say is that I'm glad that I didn't spend the money on a special oriole feeder as I am almost sure that they don't come to my area. For two weeks now I've left out oranges and jelly for them, and still nothing.

So, I haven't seen an Oriole in my jelly feeder for a week now or any other bird for that matter...until today. When I checked the jelly dish, I noticed a lot of the jelly was gone and there were bird droppings on the roof of the feeder that weren't there yesterday. So I put fresh jelly in the dish and right after that a Red Bellied Woodpecker shows up at the feeder. I am thinking he was after bugs in the grape jelly. Something is eating the jelly. But, I just haven't seen what yet.
I don't think it's an Oriole(s) because they don't eat THAT much of it. I haven't seen any Catbirds around. Does anyone have any ideas who the mystery jelly eater is???

Saw the Oriole at my jelly feeder about 30 minutes ago. I thought he had left. Also, I know now that I have heard him around but just not seen him. I still have not seen a female. Last year I saw both males and females at the feeder and in my bird bath.

Well, I finally figured out where the Orioles are nesting. They are not nesting in the Pin Oak again, but in the Linden tree on the other side of the house!

After I noticed the female pulling on the fibers from the old nest, I decided to put out some more cat fur for her to use in the nest (Orioles will collect animal fur to line the inside of the nest). Every Spring in late March/early April I fill a large suet cage with cat fur. My sister has long-haired cats and she collected the fur when she brushes them. I "fluff" the fur up and put it in the cage and it's usually gone within a few weeks because the birds and even the red squirrels collect it for their nests.

This time I only put out a little fur. The Tufted Titmouse and the Oriole female collected it all within 2 days. Here she is collecting tufts of fur that fell on the ground -

And here she is bringing a little fur to the nest!