Detailed information on Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)

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RobertCrandall

Capac, MI | November 2015 | Positive

Far and away our favorite bird here in southeast Michigan. This year we had about 15 of them at once. Sadly we notice they have a love for the Ash trees. We still have over 100 Ash trees left and about 10 that are larger than 2 foot in diameter but the prediction that we keep hearing is not good as everyone knows. we have lost about 200 of them so far. Anyway the Orioles fly from one side of our property to the other and give quite a show during the courting season. I have watched them eating the Ash tree seed pods. We have Oranges and Grape Jelly out as well but they don't seem to be that interested in them.

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gasrocks

Portage, WI (Zone 5a) | September 2014 | Positive

Wonderful bird. Grape jelly is the key food. The last 2 summers, all the local stores ran out of grape jelly for a couple of weeks. So, I always have extra on hand. Too expensive to get it from Amazon. I always have about 6 pairs or more. Even get an Orchard Oriole once in a while. Gene

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Chillybean

(Zone 5a) | August 2012 | Positive

A beautiful bird we came to know more of this summer. Last year we had a visiting male and female pair, but after two weeks of eating the oranges, they moved on. Our suspicion was because we didn't have suitable nesting material as we knew they used horse hair. People about a mile from us have horses, so I suspect they went there.

This year early on, we had a female and two males. They enjoyed the oranges. We really wanted them to nest here if possible, so what I did was began collecting my hair from the brush, chopped it into shorter pieces as I have super long hair and crammed it into a suet cage. I hung it on the south side of the house away from the feeding area. The female found it!

So... we got to see the Baltimore Orioles nearly every day in t... read more

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SJWyman

Gainesville, FL (Zone 9a) | September 2011 | Positive

I've caught several glimpses of a Baltimore Oriole at my feeders during the past week.

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irishmist

Rochester, NY (Zone 6a) | June 2011 | Positive

I usually see an occasional male briefly in late spring but they move on. Saw one at my hummingbird feeder 10 days ago and now a pair are feeding there regularly. They are emptying the feeder twice a day and fortunately the hummers still are using it too. I see the male more frequently than the female. When first spotted I put out an orange half but that remained untouched. Does anyone have suggestions for a good oriole feeder? I'm trying to figure out how to provide a jelly feeder that they won't tip. Thanks for any ideas.

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LFinch

Remus, MI | October 2010 | Positive

One of my favorite memories from the summer of 2010 is watching a male oriole bring an offspring to the jelly dish and feed him as we sat in our lawnchairs watching. We were very close to them and this went on for at least ten minutes, while the female was close by in a tree. Needless to say we felt honored to share this unique moment with the orioles!

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sm4657

Marshalltown, IA (Zone 5a) | August 2010 | Positive

I saw my first oriole this spring here in Iowa....beautiful. I wasn't sure what kind of feeder to put out, so I saw him one more time, and he was gone. I make my own sugar syrup for the hummers, and didn't want to buy the 'off-the-shelf kind for the orioles....what is the best feeder for them?

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canalbeach

Chepachet, RI | July 2010 | Positive

We put a feeder up for the Orioles about 2 years ago when we saw one flying through or yard. I'm happy to say that we now have 3-4 nest pairs around our property. They're quite comical to watch. We moved the feeder up on the deck this year and find that our presents really doesn't bother them now. When we are to close to the feeder, they chatter at us till we move away then they resume their feeding. I found that when they first get here they will eat oranges all day long. As the spring progresses I have to switch to grape jelly to keep them happy. We're now well into summer and going broke buying grape jelly. The males are much more timid than the less colorful females. They will drink sugar water as well.

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nutsaboutnature

Algonquin, IL (Zone 5a) | May 2009 | Positive

Until this spring (2009) we saw Baltimore Orioles sporadically as they darted from tree to tree. Late last autumn we bought a cheap Oriole feeder since we had no idea if they'd use it. As soon as I saw one this spring I put the feeder up by our kitchen window (next to a hummingbird feeder). WOW! It started with one adult male. We now have at least three - mature, immature, females & males. They come constantly all day long. Try a feeder. It's worth it!!

Update: After a couple of years we realized many of the Orioles had trouble getting the syrup out of the feeder so I tried Oranges and Grape Jelly.

I have since found that Orioles absolutely LOVE grape jelly. I'll sometimes have as many as 5 birds trying to get to one bowl of jelly and even becom... read more

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robbyjo

New Bern, NC (Zone 8a) | April 2009 | Positive

At 64 years old, I had never seen a baltimore oriole until about two years ago. During the winter, a male started stopping off here to rest and refuel on his way somewhere else.This year, we bribed him to hang around with half oranges, grape jelly, and peanuts. We were seeing a female too for awhile, but haven't seen her these past few days. We may be just missing her or she may be busy elsewhere making little orioles. I sure hope so. Maybe we'll have some young oroles that think this is home. Whoo-hoo!

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cececoogan

Waukesha, WI (Zone 5a) | February 2009 | Positive

I saw my very first Oriole the end of June, 2008. I was so excited and looking forward to hopefully seeing him back this year.

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Malus2006

Coon Rapids, MN (Zone 4a) | February 2009 | Positive

Common in the Twin Cities, those birds are often sighted during spring time for me as they move through, either going more further north or looking for territory. Around the Twin Cities, they seem to strongly prefer cottonwoods as they are the most common tallest tree, towering well above their neighbor trees, and also strongly prefer to nest near water - I have seen their nests during summer or fall near creeks but never suburban areas yet. During the summer and fall, I almost never see any.

Baltimore Oriole

Icterus galbula

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