Backyard Birder: Baltimore Oriole

Backyard birder will become a regular feature of our blog and will strive to share, educate and highlight one of our nations most popular pastimes. Judy Lyle from Tallahassee will be one of our regular contributors, and to start the ball rolling she has sent me a selection fantastic pictures she took this week of a gorgeous male Baltimore Oriole. He is the first one she has seen visiting her jelly feeders. Awesome pictures, Judy!

"A Baltimore Oriole visits for the first known time in my front yard and checks outs the Oriole feeder that is hanging in a crape myrtle tree."



"Lots of other birds were present and that might have made him feel safer." 



"Another view."

"The Baltimore Oriole lands on the feeder and nibbles the homemade suet.  He leaves a few seconds later and I quickly go inside and grab some grape jelly to put in the feeder."

"Ten minutes later the Baltimore Oriole returns and samples the grape jelly.  He must have liked it because I saw him again the next day."



"One from this afternoon’s visit and he is on the perch in front of grape jelly."



Baltimore Orioles can be found throughout much of the Eastern United States from April to October. Most of the population heads south to the tropics for the winter but a good number of them winter in the South-east. Their numbers vary from winter to winter depending on the availablity of food. Baltimore Orioles have adapted to the increase in backyard bird feeders, particularly grape jelly feeders and here in Tallahassee the Baltimore Oriole is a common winter resident. Some backyards attract lots of orioles and small flocks of up to a dozen birds are not uncommon. If you haven't already tried attracting orioles to your backyard or if you have tried and are having no luck, follow these tips and you may get one like Judy did.

1. Hang your feeder on a shepherd's hook next to a large evergreeen shrub or hedgerow that has larger trees (preferably evergreen) close by. Orioles like to approach a feeder from cover.
2. Hang several oriole feeders up around your yard and spread them out.
3. Bright orange feeders seem to attract them more than plain colored ones.
4. Keep the feeder clean.
5. Feeders with a built in ant moat prevent ants from getting to the jelly!