for necter which is just sugar water they make an oriole feeder which is orange base with orange slices painted around the holes. with perches for them to stand on.
For jelly or orance halfs i just take a square board about 5 to 6 inches square and put a nail or screw in each of the four sides and tie nylon twine the same lenght to each nail
with a knot tied the four strings together and hang it and a plastic lid or bowl sitting on the board and spoon jelly into the lid or drive a nail up thru the bottom of the board and push a orange half down on the nail. i don't have a picture now but will go out and take a photo and post it later or tomorrow morning on this forum.

I think this is the one dklucius is referring to. I have it and the Orioles like it but as you can see if you look at the reviews on the page I linked people have problems with it. My problem is that when it sways in the wind it leaks nectar which attracts bees and they do find a way to get it. If someone knows of one with no problems I would love to hear about it.

I liked this one for orioles and hummers, it has bee guard, it didn't leak in the wind but the sugar water level gets too high and bees can reach it, all I did was making it not to sway, ..lasted for 3 season, not sure what's out there for both birds.

I've had good luck with this jelly/jam feeder made by Duncraft. You can just screw new jars on or refill the old.

I tried this oriole nectar feeder last year - I stuck an orange half on top and sometimes put jelly in the orange half. The orioles liked it but I kept finding too many insect pollinators drowned in the syrup.

This year I'm using the bottom half of that nectar feeder and putting little pots of jam in the bottom. The orioles and catbirds like this, and I've even seen a cardinal occasionally trying the jam.

Right now I have two feeders out, the hanging jar feeder (first photo) and the bottom half feeder (third photo).

in the past I've also just put a few orange slices in a suet cage. This works for those orioles that like oranges.

Claire

All of your input has been so helpful. Thanks so much!

sorry i did not get back with pictures but my keyboard died and i just got back from office depot and am trying a new wireless keyboad and mouse. my orange colored orioles feeder in a lot like the one bob posted a picture of but must be a different model. it does leak a little in the wind but most of the feeders i have tried do also. i tried the hummzinger saucer type too but the birds were leary of it as they slid around landing on the slick rounded top i have a couple of regular hummingbird feeders with broad bases that the orioles can perch on and i drill out the holes to make it easier for them to drink from.

dklucius - you described it so well, I actually rigged up a test feeder using a coffee lid - so thanks!

Claire - your pictures and comments were a huge help. So were the other comments. And Claire, I loved the idea of putting oranges in a suet cage - great idea!

Thanks again to all.

Hello birders, I bought three of the jar feeders yesterday from Duncraft. Would you guys recommend which flavors are go's and which are not, please?

Thank you,

Dax

here anyway the grape jelly is the favorite. Welches or smuckers but they do eat the generics also.
I have one woodpecker that only eats the strawbery jam or jelly.and a couple grosbeaks that prefer the apricot jam.
i make my own apricot jam at home.but the bottles that fit the feeders can be refilled over and over with whatever you want. i buy the grape in large bottles and spoon out of it.

I try to use jams or preserves figuring they have a little more nutritive value (supermarket types on sale). Grape, apricot, peach, and raspberry are popular; strawberry not so much. Like dklucius I also clean and refill the 10 oz or 12 oz jars that fit in the feeder. At the beginning of the season I buy two of the Smuckers jars that fit and then just refill them from a big jar.

Claire

Noted, thank you guys.

Dax

another thing i do after all the summer birds show up and the fledglings show up too is use a shallow tray or lid or bowl hung near the other feeders and dice up fresh fruit such as watermelon and cherrys and even grapes or just about any other fruits when they are on sale. i pour a little orange juice over it and the birds all enjoy it.
especially the orioles and tanagers.

I haven't tried the fresh fruit with orange juice - a great idea (I'll just have to stop eating it all myself for breakfast).

Claire

My Orioles just pretend they're Hummers. Notice how all the little yellow plastic "flowers" have been ripped off? Hmmmm..

Ah yes, a few years ago I caught one of the little vandals in the act of trying to rip off the plastic flowers on the hummingbird feeder (the feeder isn't really a hood ornament of my car, it was just a long shot using my camera lens).

Claire

Cute. I'm glad you caught the rascal Claire.

Question about the jam jar feeders - can they get the jam out when the jar is getting down to the last 1/4 or so? Or do you empty that out and start over? I'd be refilling anyway, so it wouldn't be a huge deal, but I'm curious.

Love the pictures of the Oriole ripping off the flowers!

Watching this Oriole contorting herself to use the Hummingbird feeder convinced me I needed to buy an Oriole feeder.

{{!gwi}}

ruth_mi: When I first got the jam jar feeder the birds couldn't get to the bottom of it (there's a crossbar to keep them from getting stuck in there), so I'd either add some more jam to the jar or dump the remainder into a dish for them.

Now, a couple of years later, the feeder is partly broken, or maybe the birds are heavier. Anyway, it seems to tip more and the jam slides forward within reach. Being thrown around by a raccoon does modify a feeder. At least I think it's a raccoon that every once in a while shakes things up.

bob414: Those orioles certainly know how to manipulate a person to get what they want.

Claire

Claire - thanks, that helps!

Ruth

Go for them Ruth. I put three of them within 8 feet of each other and pointed them differing directions. They cost 40 dollars with shipping, so pricey. But, I think a group of them will benefit the birdwatcher (and the birds, of course).

The directions state to monitor the amount of jam or jelly within the jars because there is still a chance, even with the crossbar across the front, a bird could become trapped...

There are however a few alternatives to avoid this from happening, such as using other adaptable jars of which one is, any Gerber baby food jar. The kit does come with a plastic screw on bottle so you can just purchase your jelly/jam in bulk. This isn't mentioned at the website, or so I don't believe.

Good luck to you!

Dax

Maybe the raccoons should not be blamed for all of the damage to the jam jar feeder, and for the other feeder being knocked around. Even with the best of intentions a crow is a bit large for these feeders. It managed to get a few good beakfuls anyway.

Claire

If they want it Crows are going to find a way to get it. I'm glad you caught the rascal and posted.

Yes, crows are determined fellows. This morning the crow (I assume it's the same one, based on nothing particular) returned and fed from the other feeder.

I've been putting little plastic pots, the kind you get from takeout, in that feeder, and I put jam in them. The little pots have been disappearing, not just dropped on the ground, and I once saw a crow fly off with a pot in its beak. I don't mind so much but I do wish they'd return the empties. I imagine I could find the crow's nest by looking for a tree with takeout trash on the ground under it.

The crow only stays for less than a minute but the feeder is in clear view of my computer window. The camera is next to me so I just grab it when I see activity out there. A squirrel just rain along the porch railing checking to see if I forgot to close the birdseed containers.

Claire

Those are all such great ideas! When I lived in Kentucky I had a fancy Oriole feeder and put out orange halves, but the orioles only visited at dawn and dusk, when I wasn't in sight. Yet they openly hung out in my non-birding neighbor's yard, gorging on tent caterpillars.
Go figure.

I had a series of raccoon (probably) attacks on my jam feeders, resulting in breakage of the jelly jar itself and the hanger. For a while the coon was throwing the other feeder on the ground, and I would just put it back up in the morning. The last time though, the metal hanger disappeared so I couldn't use the bottom.

I rigged up a temporary feeder out of a hanging flower pot apparatus and I plopped a few spoonfuls of grape and apricot preserves in the saucer. This feeder was meant to be a stopgap until I rigged up a better one, but I'll leave it up as long as it lasts. The neighbor's dog is back from a long vacation and this feeder hasn't been bothered.

This morning I saw the first Baltimore Oriole fledgling at this feeder.

I think that's a fledgling in front with the mother in the back watching over the baby.

This feeder was meant to be a stopgap until I rigged up a better one, but I'll leave it up as long as it lasts. I plopped a few spoonfuls of grape and apricot preserves in the saucer.

Claire

That's really amazing collection of Oriole Feeders here. Beautiful Bird like Oriole will surely enjoy it.