Baltimore Oriole Archives • PAUL ROEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

bo - Orioles Are On The Move: How To Attract These Beauties To Your Yard — **Baltimore Orioles are one of the more vibrant birds that regularly visit backyards. These colourful birds are easy to attract by offering their favourite foods**.

The next big wave of migrants is set to descend on Southwestern Ontario. Included in this group will be the Baltimore Oriole. Orioles overwinter in the southern United States, Central, and South America returning each spring in late April or early May. Reports of these birds in our area are beginning to come in, so it is time to think about attracting them to your yard.

bo2 - Orioles Are On The Move: How To Attract These Beauties To Your Yard — **The striking plumage of the male Baltimore Oriole is a welcome sight in any yard.**

Feeding on insects, fruit, and nectar the Baltimore Oriole doesn’t visit your typical backyard feeder filled with seed; however, they will visit a feeder designed specifically for orioles. A nectar feeder, similar to those used for hummingbirds, is one of the more popular feeders used by homeowners to attract orioles to their yards. Since orioles have larger bills than hummingbirds, these feeders have larger ports for the birds to access the nectar.

Nectar can be made easily at home by mixing four parts water with one part sugar. In a pot, bring one cup of water to a boil on your stove. Add 1/4 cup of white sugar and stir as the sugar dissolves. Remove the mixture from the stove and allow it to cool before filling your feeder. Be sure to replace the nectar in your feeder regularly, especially in warmer weather.

Watermark 1 8 - Orioles Are On The Move: How To Attract These Beauties To Your Yard — **As is the case with most birds, female Baltimore Orioles are not as colorful as their male counterparts**.

Oranges are another great option to offer orioles that visit your backyard. By placing either orange slices or halves around your yard, orioles will quickly move in to consume the fruit. Orange halves and slices can be stuck on tree branches, shepherd’s hooks, or anywhere the birds can access them. It has been my experience that squirrels too will eat oranges, so it is a good idea to place them in a location where these small mammals cannot access them. Commercial feeders designed specifically for offering oranges are also available at your local seed retailer.

Watermark 1 6 - Orioles Are On The Move: How To Attract These Beauties To Your Yard — **Regardless of which food you decide to offer orioles, make sure it is fresh. Nectar, oranges, and jelly all spoil faster than traditional bird foods, especially in warmer temperatures**.

Grape jelly is another excellent food for attracting orioles to your yard. Be careful though, as not all jellies are created equal. Many grape jellies available at your local grocery store are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and contain other artificial sweeteners and colours that offer no nutritional value and could potentially be harmful to the birds. Check the ingredients on the label and ensure that the grape jelly you buy is either unsweetened or sweetened with sugar only. If you are unsure, commercial jelly designed specifically for birds is available at your local seed retailer.

Grape jelly can be placed outside in a shallow dish, or again commercial feeders are available specifically for jelly. Some of these feeders are combination feeders, meaning they will accommodate oranges and jelly, or oranges, jelly, and nectar. Visit your local seed retailer to see the wide variety of commercial oriole feeders available. As is the case with nectar and oranges, replace the jelly regularly, especially in warmer weather. When replacing the food, whether it’s nectar, oranges, or jelly, clean the feeder at the same time. This too will ensure the health of the birds.

bo1 - Orioles Are On The Move: How To Attract These Beauties To Your Yard — **Oriole sightings are being reported from around our area. If you haven’t already, add an oriole feeder to your yard and attract this stunning beauty**.

Orioles are one of the more vibrant birds that will visit a backyard and are easy to attract. If you haven’t put your oriole feeder out yet, now is the time. If you don’t own an oriole feeder, I highly recommend adding one to your yard. These feeders are inexpensive to purchase and well worth the investment once you see that first flash of black and orange in your backyard.

Good birding,
Paul

Subscribe To My Blog

17164402397 6c1723d25d o - Orioles And Hummingbirds Are On Their Way — **Orioles will soon be returning to our area. Placing a feeder out now will help attract them to your yard upon their arrival.**

In my last post, Good Birding Report: London, Ontario April 17-24, 2020, I mentioned the migration floodgates are about to open. Here in London, I typically see my first oriole and hummingbird by May 5 each year. Now is the perfect time to get your feeders up in anticipation of these birds returning. Having your feeder out when these species arrive will ensure they have nourishment to replace spent energy after their long migration north.

IMG 1258 Edit 2 Edit - Orioles And Hummingbirds Are On Their Way — **Ruby-throated Hummingbird approaching a feeder.**

One of the easiest ways to provide nourishment and attract orioles and hummingbirds to your yard is with a nectar feeder. For both birds, a simple mixture of sugar and water is all you need to make food that will fill their hungry little bellies. In a pot on your stove mix four parts water to one part sugar (1 cup of water to 1/4 cup sugar) and bring it to a boil. Boiling helps dissolve the sugar while removing chlorine and other impurities from our tap water. Once the mixture has cooled simply fill your feeder. A larger batch can be made and stored in the fridge for 7 to 10 days if your feeders are quite busy.

IMG 1271 Edit 2 Edit - Orioles And Hummingbirds Are On Their Way — **Red food colouring is potentially harmful to hummingbirds. Please note the glass on this feeder is red not the mixture of water and sugar inside.**

There are conflicting reports about whether red food colouring is harmful to birds. I do not use or recommend using red food colouring as anything potentially harmful to birds does not go in my feeders. The red color on the feeder itself is all that is required to attract plenty of hummingbirds. Orioles are typically attracted to the orange colour on the oriole feeders. That being said, both birds regularly visit feeders designed for the other species demonstrating that color isn’t that important so why bother with food colouring?

48527453946 547aa61e83 o - Orioles And Hummingbirds Are On Their Way — **A cedar tree provides not only a windbreak at my feeder but also a place for the hummingbirds to perch en route.**

Properly placing your feeder will help ensure greater success. I like to position mine out of the wind and close to a nearby perch. A tree in the proximity of the feeder works great as orioles and hummingbirds will often land here first before moving on to the feeder. For hummingbirds, a small leafless or dead branch is best to accommodate their tiny bodies.

17680631798 563b8eb36b o - Orioles And Hummingbirds Are On Their Way — **The vibrant orange plumage of the male Baltimore Oriole is a welcome sight in any yard.**

A shepherd’s hood works perfectly for hanging either an oriole or hummingbird feeder. Certainly with a sweet mixture of sugar and water you are also going to attract insects. Ants will readily climb the shepherd’s hook to get to the feeder and the nectar in it. Do not spray your hook with AntOut or Raid to kill the ants as orioles will gobble them up off the pole. Some feeders now feature a built-in ant moat or commercial ant moats are also available to hang over both oriole and hummingbird feeders. These moats are essentially reservoirs filled with water causing the ants to fall in and drown before reaching the feeder and are a much safer option than insecticides that will inadvertently harm the birds and beneficial insects.

IMG 1686 Edit Edit - Orioles And Hummingbirds Are On Their Way — **A rather wet oriole after an early May downpour.**

Oranges are another great option for attracting orioles to your yard. These can either be cut in half or slices and skewered onto tree branches, shepherd’s hooks, or placed on deck railings. Like the sugar water, oranges too will attract insects so be mindful of where you place them. In my experience, squirrels also love oranges and the fresh fruit often disappears shortly after placing it outside.

IMG 1491 Edit Edit - Orioles And Hummingbirds Are On Their Way — **Orioles readily eat insects and will naturally control pests in your yard. Insecticides are never a good idea as inadvertently poisoning birds and beneficial insects is a real possibility.**

Grape jelly is also popular with many homeowners for attracting orioles. Unfortunately, most of the grape jelly made for human consumption is sweetened with fructose or corn syrup and provides no nutritional value for birds. If you are going to offer jelly, make sure it contains no artificial sweeteners, colors, or flavours. BirdBerry Jelly is by far the best option; however, it is pricier. Given the challenges with getting groceries these days, sugar and water is the cheapest and easiest option for feeding orioles and hummingbirds.

44301291684 6e26f87081 o - Orioles And Hummingbirds Are On Their Way — **Having areas near your feeder to perch will attract more hummingbirds to your yard.**

Tracking the migration of orioles and hummingbirds is easy thanks to the Journey North maps. Recent sightings for both species can be viewed on the maps while watching their progress each day.

17249796209 19919c4f71 o - Orioles And Hummingbirds Are On Their Way — **Orioles are on their way, be ready for their arrival by placing your feeders out now.**

If you haven’t already, get your oriole and hummingbird feeders out in anticipation of their arrival. Having them out when these birds return will provide nourishment to replace energy burned after their long migration north. With warm temperatures and south winds in the forecast, there is a good chance we could see orioles and hummingbirds by the end of the week, will you be ready?

Good birding,
Paul

* Please note this post contains Amazon affiliate links. You can help support my website by using the above links when you purchase products on Amazon (they send me a few bucks when you do at no additional cost to you). I only provide links to products I have purchased and am satisfied with based on my own experience. Thanks for your support!*