The male cardinal adds a distinct spark in the environment around the bird feeder in winter, and although he still visits my backyard he doesn’t display the brilliant red that he did during the snowy season. In spring, another colorful guy takes over: the oriole, with bright orange feathers that are sure to delight the people who put out jelly feeders for him.
Many types of oriole feeders are available, ones that accommodate grape jelly and ones made to hold fresh orange halves. I prefer the former.
My oriole feeders are hand-made hanging devices that I fashion from eight-inch square, half-inch thick board with a hole cut in the center to hold a plastic cup. I fasten light cord at each corner of the board and tie the cords together above the platform so that it can be hung, and insert the cut-out bottom of a plastic, fast-food soda cup which I filled with grape jelly. I hang these feeders underneath the roof overhang on my house, using screw-in hooks and more cord (with an anchor point on the end opposite the feeder, for easy raising and lowering from ground level). Placement underneath the roof overhang helps keep the rain and sun off the feeders, and hanging them near windows allows me to observe orioles from inside my home.
The grape jelly in an oriole feeder should be replaced every few days if it’s not consumed; otherwise it will spoil.
Orioles will also use hummingbird feeders, but they need a perch to stand on, as they cannot hover like a hummer. On some of my hummingbird feeders I have enlarged several of the feeder holes to allow easier accessibility to the liquid.
So far this seems to be a great year for orioles; there is one at my feeders almost constantly and usually another one waiting its turn nearby. Catbirds and rose-breasted grosbeaks (another colorful bird) are also frequent users of jelly feeders. I hang a hummingbird feeder below the jelly feeder by the window next to my recliner and get a bonus view of both birds while I’m relaxing.
There are two sub species of orioles: the Baltimore oriole and the orchard oriole. The Baltimore, with its flaming orange breast, is the most common oriole. The color of the orchard oriole is darker, almost a brownish orange. This sub species is smaller and not often seen. Both types frequent open woodlands along river edges, marsh edges, lake shores, open shrub lands and farms. Both feed on insects, fruit and nectar.
The female oriole does most of the remarkable, basket-like nest building by weaving slender grasses, plant down, animal fur, strips of bark, feathers and even some man-made items like yarn, cellophane and fishing line. The nest is usually about four inches deep with a small opening near the top (two to three inches). It is started by hanging long fibers over a small branch and poking more fibers into the hank until the nest bowl is completed. Next, springy fibers are woven into an inner bowl, which helps maintain the bag-like shape of the nest. Finally, a soft lining of downy fibers and feathers is placed inside to cushion the eggs and young. Construction takes about a week, but rainy or windy weather may cause the process to be drawn out to two weeks.
Orioles hang around until mid- to late summer, then migrate south again by fall. Peak migration occurs in August-September and most birds reach their wintering grounds (Central and South America) by October.
Baltimore orioles sometimes use their slender beaks to feed in an unusual way, called “gaping” — stab a closed bill into soft fruit, then open the bill to cut a juicy swath from which to drink with brush-tipped tongue.
If you see an oriole that looks decidedly more red than orange, it may be a fluke. Though rare, the abnormal feather pigmentation has been documented multiple times over the past three decades. It’s believed to be related to the consumption of berries produced by non-native honeysuckle plants imported to the United States in the mid 20th century.
Oriole populations have been steadily declining mainly because they are vulnerable to deforestation and habitat loss in many different countries where they winter. Insecticides applied on trees may also be a factor, as insect-loving birds are indirectly affected.