Orioles are colorful birds and their startling orange, yellow and black colors have made them a new favorite of backyard birders across the United States. At least one species of Oriole occurs in every state of the lower 48 states in the U.S. The Baltimore Oriole and Orchard Oriole are found in the eastern states, the Bullock's Oriole in the west, in Texas they have the Audubon's and Altamira Orioles, Hooded Orioles and all previously mentioned in migration and in the southwest we have the Hooded Oriole, Scott's Oriole and the Bullock's Oriole.
We have found attracting orioles to our yard to be an easy task. Orioles have a sweet tooth. Four food items are loved by these birds and we provide all four. The biggest oriole magnet is grape jelly. We have tried preserves, grape jam, other jellies and even fruit flavored baby food. The overwhelming favorite was just cheap brand X grape jelly that we pick up at the Dollar Store. Orioles are fruit and insect eaters in nature and they much appreciate orange halves. They also have a tendency to try to drink the nectar from our hummingbird feeders so we have modified several of our hummingbird feeders to accommodate our oriole friends. The fourth food to attract these birds is mealworms which may be fed in a small smooth sided dish.
We feed our orioles with a commercial Oriole Feeder which has two dishes, one for jelly and one for mealworms and two pegs for orange halves. In the winter we continue to put out jelly but put peanut butter in the mealworm dish to provide a high protein food for our winter birds. As stated before we have modified several hummingbird feeders to accommodate the orioles.
Water is another factor in attracting these birds and they love moving water. This can be provided by a bird bath or, more elaborately, by a small bird pond. The addition of a mister or dripper will add to the moving water effect and draw, not only orioles, but many other birds that do not come in to seed feeders.
Our oriole feeding system must work. This morning we could see 14 orioles at one time waiting to come in to our food and water station. Male and female Bullock's Orioles, Hooded Orioles and Scott's Orioles lined up or squabbled to get into the feeders, especially the jelly feeders. These birds will stay around until October and grace our yard with their brilliant colors. Seeing them is a great way to start the day.
We have found attracting orioles to our yard to be an easy task. Orioles have a sweet tooth. Four food items are loved by these birds and we provide all four. The biggest oriole magnet is grape jelly. We have tried preserves, grape jam, other jellies and even fruit flavored baby food. The overwhelming favorite was just cheap brand X grape jelly that we pick up at the Dollar Store. Orioles are fruit and insect eaters in nature and they much appreciate orange halves. They also have a tendency to try to drink the nectar from our hummingbird feeders so we have modified several of our hummingbird feeders to accommodate our oriole friends. The fourth food to attract these birds is mealworms which may be fed in a small smooth sided dish.
We feed our orioles with a commercial Oriole Feeder which has two dishes, one for jelly and one for mealworms and two pegs for orange halves. In the winter we continue to put out jelly but put peanut butter in the mealworm dish to provide a high protein food for our winter birds. As stated before we have modified several hummingbird feeders to accommodate the orioles.
Water is another factor in attracting these birds and they love moving water. This can be provided by a bird bath or, more elaborately, by a small bird pond. The addition of a mister or dripper will add to the moving water effect and draw, not only orioles, but many other birds that do not come in to seed feeders.
Our oriole feeding system must work. This morning we could see 14 orioles at one time waiting to come in to our food and water station. Male and female Bullock's Orioles, Hooded Orioles and Scott's Orioles lined up or squabbled to get into the feeders, especially the jelly feeders. These birds will stay around until October and grace our yard with their brilliant colors. Seeing them is a great way to start the day.
