Oriole ID?

11 years ago

I have Baltimore Orioles every day now, but in the last few days I've seen orioles that I think may be Orchard Orioles (I've never seen them before). The coloring is definitely different from the Baltimore Orioles I usually see - the female is more yellow-green and the male chestnut and black.

This is the female, which conveniently posed yesterday with a Baltimore Oriole female for comparison of color and size.

Orchard? on the front left

Same female oriole

And two females again, Orchard? on the front left

Today I saw a possible Orchard Oriole male, although I couldn't get conventional pictures.

Possible Orchard Oriole on the left with a Baltimore Oriole on the right.

Same bird moved to the jam when the Baltimore Oriole left.

Not a great photo but it does show the head and breast of the possible Orchard Oriole male.

Are these Orchard Orioles?

Thanks,
Claire

This post was edited by claire on Fri, May 9, 14 at 18:42

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Comments (9)

tmff
11 years ago
Claire,

Undoubtedly Orchard Orioles.
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, TMFF! I've been wanting to see them for years, thinking they should be around here, but until yesterday I didn't see anything that looked reasonable.

Claire
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tmff
11 years ago
How exciting then! They are a treat. Glad you finally recruited them to the feeding station! I wouldn't doubt you've heard them singing before.
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
Original Author
11 years ago
I just went to the All About Birds site and listened to the Orchard and Baltimore Oriole sounds. I think I've been hearing that chatter call but just assumed it was a Baltimore Oriole calling.

I'm very weak at identifying bird songs - the birds refuse to come out one at a time and sing in front of me, then shut up and leave. And those that do often don't sound much like their online sounds.

Usually it seems like I see seven different birds at the same time and hear twenty-five singing, and I have no idea which is which. Photos are much easier.

Claire
tmff
11 years ago
Birding by ear is a very difficult skill to acquire. I know some birders that are amazing at it. They will come home with checklists twice as diverse as mine, even after birding the same spots at the same time, all because they could ID many more birds by song than I could. I continue to work on it all the time. I get rusty over the winter! I currently can hear an Indigo Bunting singing across my street (as I type this). As a summer resident, I can recognize them pretty well. They basically never shut up. But for the spring migrants- forget it! I have to relearn their songs every spring. One of these years I'll retain that stuff better. Just as you said; these guys won't make a stage appearance for us. Makes it tough to learn, especially once the leaves are filling in. Many tree leaves are much bigger than warblers and those little birds are nearly impossible to see. Most birders I know just ID them by song instead. We can visit sites like xeno-canto to listen to clips that include song variations from each species that have been recorded and IDd. These are files that are uploaded by users. All About Birds is great but not as comprehensive.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.xeno-canto.org/
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
Original Author
11 years ago
That's a great site, thanks, TMFF! For years I've been hearing what I think is, maybe is, might be, is probably, a Common Yellowthroat, but I've never seen one (except maybe a fleeting glimpse once).

I searched for the song and found two entries recorded about 7 miles away from me in Manomet. I'm still not sure of the ID but I'm very impressed with the resource.

Claire
tmff
11 years ago
I find the Common Yellowthroats to be a bit easier to ID by sound since they have that energetic song that bounces up and down in pitch. You'll usually find them low to the ground along the edges of lush undergrowth; is that where you hear the song coming from? Since they hang low, you can usually see them more easily than some other warblers. At least in my experience that has held true. The tree-toppers are the ones that make me crazy! Here's a challenge for ya: listen to the Louisiana Waterthrush and then the Yellow-throated Warbler. Ay caramba! The good news is the waterthrushes stay lower near creeks so habitat can be a good clue. The Yellow-throated Warblers are tree-toppers and I find them in Sycamores. But their songs are very similar, in my opinion.

Even the names can be confusing: Yellow-throated Warblers, Yellow-throated Vireos, Common Yellowthroats....LOL!

Anyway, I'm rambling. Hope you enjoy that site. I find it very useful.

This post was edited by TMFF on Sat, May 10, 14 at 10:51
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
Original Author
11 years ago
I hear the Yellowthroats from the thicket at the edge of my yard and the neighbor's. He has let wild blackberries and grapes run wild which is great for the birds although I have to keep beating the brush back when it tries to take over my yard too.

I just looked out (my computer window has a direct view of various birdfeeders) and I saw a feeding frenzy when Baltimore and Orchard Orioles fought over the apricot preserves.

I think this is a female Baltimore eating preserves while a male Baltimore watches on the right and a female Orchard flies under the feeder.

The female B scared off two male B's

She's looking very belligerent here.

The B's left and a minute or two later a male and female Orchard showed up at the same time.

And decided not to share.

It's calm again now and a catbird sneaked in for some preserves (no pic). The catbirds defer to the orioles.

Claire
tmff
11 years ago
Awesome sequence! That is oriole heaven!