My Orioles do this every year. I believe when they disappear they are busy feeding their young. Keep your eyes and ears open and you should see them feeding their fledlings in the trees a few weeks from now.

I didn't know that they still have the babies around. For some reason, I thought that all happened in June, and by now, the fledgings would be gone.

But, I'm new to this so I'm learning as I go.

Thanks

they are eating more insects now as they are trying to keep up with feeding the young. Put some mealworms out instead of the jelly and you may be able to keep those orioles coming to the feeder.

chinamigarden - will they ever return to the jelly, or is that a lost cause for the summer? I'll check out mealworms.

Thanks.

Today I saw a female oriole feeding a fledgling from the jelly feeder. I don't know if it was the straight jelly (actually peach preserves) or insects that had gotten stuck to the jelly.

Anyway, she parked the baby on top of the shepherd's crook and flew back and forth with a beak full. This is my first year feeding orioles so I don't know how typical this is.

Claire

Claire, what do you mean by "she parked the baby"? Did she carry the baby there? I've been wondering if birds ever carry their young.

They will come to the jelly with the fledglings.

No James they will not carry the young. I am sure she meant that the mother flew to the shephards hook and the fledgling flew there with her, then mother went to get jelly and brought it back to the young. Loons and other water birds will carry the babies on their backs while swimming but no birds I am aware of carry their young while flying.

chinamigarden is correct - I see it with many types of birds, i.e. the mother leads the fledgling to a spot near a feeder and then flies back and forth feeding the baby. Sooner or later the baby figures out how to get food itself and the mother is off the hook (pun not intended, but I'll keep it).

I have photos of this transaction yesterday, I just wasn't ready to post them last night.

Mother and fledgling on shepherd's crook surveying the offerings, jelly jar on the left and orange half on the right:

Fledgling watching mother on jelly feeder and waiting to be fed:

Mother filling up from the jelly jar:

Feeding the baby:

Claire

Wow - those pics are beautiful!

Thanks for sharing.

Great pics! I've never been able to get orioles to come to jelly or oranges either. Ocasionally to sugar water early in season. By the way that's a male Baltimore Oriole doing the feeding-females look similar to the young one.
Susan

Susan, you may be right that the adult is a male, not a female. Stereotypes die hard, and I'd read that the female can look very similar to the male, so I assumed this bird was the mother. I just checked the Cornell All About Birds Guide, and I looked at some of the other photos I took at the same time.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the female can look similar to the male, but with two white wingbars.

"Female Description
Variable in appearance. May be similar to male, but head more dark brownish olive than black, and body paler orange. Usually face, throat, and underparts orange. Tail brownish olive, without black. White in shoulder gives it two white wingbars."

In these two photos, the second wingbar (shoulder) looks orange, not white, and the tail seems to have black in it.

I wonder if the female is also around.

Claire

Claire,
That's interesting as my Kaufman's guide (the only one I have here at work) shows all the female orioles as pale counterparts to the males. The female Baltimore does have a sort of bright orange on her chest. The only ones I've seen in real life are the Baltimores, females being sort of yellow orange and Orchards with the females more a greenish yellow. The males have dark heads and throats. Most times when I see any of them they are high up in trees and I only see bits and pieces. Thanks again for the pics. Also that nectar feeder is very cool-I've only seen oriole feeders that look like hummer feeders except being orange and larger perches.
Susan

Susan: I don't think I've ever seen an Orchard Oriole, but I'm very new at oriole watching (last year was the first time, and they left quickly). I think the Baltimore orioles nest down the hill by the pond, I've seen a nest there, but are coming back for snacks since this year I have the feeders for them.

The nectar feeder is actually like a hummer feeder, but I added a lid to put the orange on. I stopped putting nectar in it because I was drowning too many bees and other pollinators.

Today I glanced out and saw two orioles and a catbird at the feeder. One of the orioles quickly kicked the catbird away.

Looks like a fledgling and maybe the mother - I see two white wingbars.

Head's up, and appears to be a female!

Maybe the male and female take turns watching the kid - or it may be another family entirely.

Claire

Very cool! Look in the winter after the trees lose their leaves & you should be able to see their long, pouch-like nest. The Balties have been using the same oak tree here for decades. The orchards usually nest in the cedar thicket but this year joined the Baltimores-it's a huge tree.
Susan