I am jealous of your oriole! I love them so much. I had several pairs nest every year at my old home but never had one since I moved. Did you have them before you put up the feeders? I've never put up feeders for them, they just showed up. Three years in a row they made nests on the same branch in a tree in my front yard. They found some string from a blue tarp, and they'd use it every year to build their nests, which made the nests very strong and they really stood out. One year we had winds in excess of 80 mph and I was worried sick about those poor little babies. After the storm I was outside with a flashlight, searching the ground for the babies. Darned if the next morning they were all in that tarp built nest, still alive. I was thrilled they survived the storm. The following year one oriole built a nest on a limb that was only five feet off the ground. We joked it had to have been one of those babies from the wind storm that was brain damaged. :) I sure miss those birds since we moved. They seemed like old friends. Thanks for sharing your picture.

Yes we do!!! 1 baby SCARED me. It was about to leave the nest and changed his mind. He couldn't get back in the box and not enough room to fly, so he fell to the ground. I went out there to pick him up and mom dive bombed and snapped at me like crazy. Just as I was about to pick it up it flew....so I was really relieved. I will check the box tomorrow to see if there is an egg left in there or I missed the 6th baby leaving. Karen

Thanks! It definitely was not the rusty blackbird, that bird has a "cute" head like a chickadee but the one I saw was more "scary" like a crow or like the brewer's blackbird you mentioned. It doesn't 100% look like that either so who knows! I wish I could remember the beak color, if it was black or yellow. It was pretty big too, bigger than a Robin which I have a million of around here. Not as big as a crow though. Hmmm!

Hey, not sure on the birdbath but since you have had the Bluebirds eating mealworms you could get some dried mealworms and rehydrate them in water for about an hour or so then drain them before you give them to the Blues. I have been doing this for about 2 weeks now and they are eating them like crazy! Much cheaper than the live ones too I get them for $7 (tax included) for a container of approx 5,000 at a store here in town. I am on my fourth container so far. So much cheaper than the live ones. Mine don't overwinter here but I will continue to feed them until they leave.