Baltimore Orioles at the Farm!

Immature Baltimore Oriole. Someday he will be brighter and even more beautiful!!

Immature Orchard Oriole! He looks kind of mean and actually he is kind of a bully except with the Female Orchard (who might be him mother)!!

Immature Baltimore...so cute and cautious!

Here he is again!

The little mean guy!! He's really kind of sweet but hard to believe he will turn out like the next pic!!

Here is the grown up Orchard Oriole! I think he is so handsome!

Immature Baltimore!

Male Baltimore!

Another

The two males got into a squabble over the feeder! I think the Orchard won as them seem the more aggresive of the two birds.

Female Orchard Oriole. She is lovely! The Female Baltimore has not been seen since the first day they showed up...I am hoping she is nest building as they were here all summer last year.

JUST PLAIN FABULOUS ROSE YOU NEED TO TAKE UP PHOTOGRAPHY AND SEND YOUR RESUME TO NATIONAL GEO< OR THE AUDOBON( SURE I SPELLED THAT WRONG) SOCIETY< WHERE THE HECK IS THE SPELL CHECK DAVE LOL,

PS I WONDER WHAT GOD WAS THINKING OF WHEN HE MADE THE MALE SPECIES OF BIRDS SO MUCH MORE GLAMOUROUS THAN THE FEMALES?????????

This message was edited Apr 30, 2008 11:37 PM

Orchard Orioles, Female and Immature Male.

Thank you Violet...you are most kind. Photographing birds has become my new passion and I love sharing it!

YOU ARE WELCOME MY FRIEND, I MOVED TO NC 2 YEARS AGO I AM A NATIVE FLORIDIAN BORN AND RAISED I DECIDED TO MOVE NORTH FOR A WHILE, I TOO LOVE PHOTOGRAPY, I HAVE SOME AWESOME PELICAN PICTURES TAKEN AT COCOA BEACH.

Here is the last of this series and the most colorful of all, the Male Baltmore!

One thing I have found out is the Orchards are very hard for me to get pics of due to their coloring! The immatures and females are almost gold/green and the males always turn out too dark. I must learn what to do to correct that!!

Violet...I just noticed you are new here...Welcome to Dave's and to the Bird Watching Forum. We have a thread called Daily Pics...right now we are on volumn 102. Please post your pelican pics there so everyone will see them. That thread is usually checked everyday by lots of viewers. There are some wonderful pics there as well as the many other threads on the forum. Welcome again!!

THANK YOU KINDLY ROSE, I WILL DO THAT I ALSO TAKE ALOT OF PHOTO'S OF MY FLOWERING TREES MY DOGWOODS ARE FABULOUS THIS TIME OF YEAR, I ALSO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OBTAIN SOME AMAZING BUTTERFLY SHOTS ALSO.

You are most welcome Violet...Dave's is a great place to share your photo's...but I must warn you it is very addictive! LOL! Have fun!!

My Orioles have arrived! They went straight to the hummingbird feeders and didn't use the Oriole feeder for the first 2 days. I have a pair and and an inmature so far. I am SOOO charged. These guys were in my neighborhood 2 years ago and I declaired right then that I would take up birdwatching when I retired. I am super happy to see them!!!!!

Congrats Nan...which ones do you have? The ones here use the Oriole feeders but spend most of their time eating jelly! I know how excited you are to see them...they really are a fun bird to watch!!

They sure are fun to watch. I have the Baltimores and they seem to want to eat upside down or sideways as much as vertical. Is there some kind of upside down feeder that they are more used to that I haven't seen in my local stores?

Fantastic series of photos of one of my favorite birds, Rose. I saw my first male here in Maryland this past weekend. As soon as I heard his song, I knew what it was. I had to track him down to eventually get a photo. I just followed his singing. Actually, I have a little difficulty distinguishing the difference in song between the Orchard Oriole and the Baltimore Oriole.

I've never seen one in my backyard. Hopefully, they will build a nest near you. Two years ago, I was able to get some photos off the female putting some finishing touches on her nest. The appearance of their nest is very interesting, also.

Great job !!!

Nan...I have noticed that they do enjoy eating upside down! One of the feeders they like is the flat one I bought at WBU in Springfield. It is made like the flat Hummer feeder but has little wells for the jelly and you can put an orange thru the hanging stem. Have you seen that one? They really seem to prefer that one and hang on it rather than perch. I will try and get a pic of them hanging on it today and post it.

Thank You Linth! I must confess that they announce themselves and I hear them before I see them land! My hearing is not that great and I cannot distinguish the difference as yet. We have a small patch of woods across the street and I think they nested there last year so I am hoping to explore there as soon as I get some really good tick and chigger spray. I am still suffering from my last trip to the woods...LOL! I hope that someday they will visit your yard, are you using jelly and oranges? I didn't last year but they still used the hummer feeders. I know your pics would be awesome!

Oh my word girl! Just speechless.

You should turn your house into a Birding Bed and Breakfast! We'd all pay to see these birds.

LOL Mrs. Ed! My friend that just visited had the best time bird watching with me! It was her first time and I think we have a convert! She emailed me yesterday from Alabama and was heading for the nearest WBU in Pensacola!! She cracked me up as she also got in the habit of peeking thru all the doors and windows for the birds!!

Yay! A convert!

Outstanding shots Rose!

You are so blessed to have such a great variety of birds around your property!

Rose, I have so enjoyed your pictures. We seem to have the identical groups of Orioles down here, and we are thrilled that they have lingered so long. I think the male Orchard Oriole is just gorgeous, and even though he's smaller, NObody bullies him! Yesterday, we had a standoff between an Orchard, a Baltimore, and a Mockingbird.

I just wish some of these beautiful birds would nest close by, but they always leave after a few days. sob

Oops forgot to say Welcome Violet!

I know you'll love it here and we hope to see many more posts from you!

Pelle

Another group of fantastic photos Rose!!!

I've got the Baltimore's here but haven't seen any Orchard's. I bought one of those feeders that holds the nectar, jelly and orange half, sounds similar to the one you got at WBU. So far, they are only eating the oranges, although they've eaten jelly in years past. I haven't seen them drinking the nectar but the Ruby-throated HB does visit it from time to time, LOL, that little piggy even has his own feeder too.

I think I'll drop by the local farm store and see if they have the chicken waterer, I like the set up of yours.

They always nest in the huge Elm in the back yard, they build the coolest nests! I saw the female picking around in the Red Bud tree and I couldn't figure out what she was doing, so I took a not so good pic. When I enlarged it, she was gathering some of my dogs hair that I had spread around in the tree earlier this spring :-)

Looks like I will be shopping at WBU this weekend then, Rose. Thanks.

I seem to have lost my flock of gold finches to the migratory flock that showed up early last month. I now have only two of them. Is this normal? Can I store niger seed in the freezer until the fall migration? (so much to learn)

I don't know about freezing but it can be refrigerated.

Thanks Pelle...who knew? A year ago I was soooo clueless!! Now that my eyes and ears are falling victim to old age...I finally see and hear!! Go figure!! LOL!

Mima...I think the Male Orchard is gorgeous too and they seem to be the more aggresive of the two. I don't know how long the Orchards will stay or if they are just passing thru. Hopefully the Orioles will stay like last year. (keeping my fingers crossed) I too am sobbing as I have not seen the Indigo Buntings for a few days and fear they have moved on...boo hoo! I was blessed to have them for awhile though!!

Sadie...I have noticed the Hummers using the Oriole feeders and the Orioles using the Hummer feeder!! I think to them nectar is nectar!! The Orioles are cleaning up the jelly in that feeder and I love to see them hanging upside down. I didn't know they did that! So much to see...so little time. How lucky you are to see their nest...I am going to try and find one as I think last year they nested in the little patch of woods across the street.

Nan...My little Goldfinches are all but gone now!! Oh my goodness...it just makes me so sad. I thought they would stay all year long!! Boo...Hoo Hoo...!! The next time I go to WBU I am getting a mister for the hummers and maybe even a fountain. I've only been there once but I dream of going there and buying everything I want (like the whole store)!! I also have lots of bird feed left and I'm wondering if there will be any seed eaters left to eat it besides the Grackles and Cowbirds!! Let us know what you buy at WBU!!

Thank you all for your kind comments...I have lots more pics to add in the coming days. One of the series will be eating the oranges...I love to watch them do that!!

Last November, my Mom got this FAB bird spa at WBU for cost!!!!

It looks like stone, but is really light fiberglass. I'd get one, but it is not in the budget right now. I'm going to put an in-ground fountain I think, since my pond seems to not be in the budget either!

http://www2.yardiac.com/long.asp?tgs=15025538:10664185&cart_id=6617748:474173414707&item_id=27404

Rose, down here we buy our seed at the local feed store. We only use black oil sunflower seed (in the shell), though suddenly, it's as precious as gas: $22/50 lb bag! All woodpeckers, cardinals, GOLDFINCHES (!), rosebreasted grosbeaks, Blue Jays, and indigo buntings love it. We put sunflower seed in all of our feeders. The birds that can't open it, like doves, eat the scraps.

Goldfinches always leave this time of year, but I have read that they return in late summer to nest.

Keep your eyes open: I have some new indigo buntings today, so maybe they're headed your way! I also have two new rose-breasted Grosbeaks.

Re: orioles at the hummingbird feeders........can they drink through those flat yellow covers?

Wow thats beautiful Mrs Ed!

yes, and she has some really pretty rocks to go in it. I though the moss/algae was REAL, but it is a part of the fiberglass.

Wow Mrs. Ed...that is just gorgeous...would I love to have something like that! That is exactly what I've been looking for but the $ may be beyond my budget. I really want something big though that bubbles like that!

Mima...Tell me about the $ of sunflower seeds!! The price really jumped didn't it? This winter we were feeding about 35 pounds a day!! Good grief I'd buy a hundred pounds at a time and I freaked when the price went up and started feeding cracked corn for the ground feeders but then the $ jumped on that! Are the Indigos and Rosebeaks eating at your feeders? I am excited now to think they may be headed our way! Most of the info I get is the St. Louis area and that is always after the fact. Here is a pic showing an Orchard O eating from the Hummer feeder. I don't know how they do it but somehow they seem to manage!

You know, Rose, that's exactly what she was looking for too! So it was great when we ran across it! She asked the woman at WBU about it and she was so happy to get rid of it for the winter! I guess what I'm saying is that deals are out there at the end of the year.

That's cute about the Orchard Oriole! Maybe they have really long tongues like the Red Bellied Woodpeckers!

I need a good deal like that Mrs. Ed!! Maybe I can get DH to build me something...he is very handy that way!

I don't know what I was thinking...yes the Orioles have long tongues as I've taken some pics showing them. I will have to see if I can find one!! (hitting self on head)!!

O.K. found one but I've got others. Here he is using his tongue to hold that massive amount of jelly! Piggy..piggy...piggy!!

Dellrose, about 3 years ago I made the same complaint about chiggers. Some wonderful person here on Dave's told me to take a Super B complex every day. I go everywhere and have not had a single chigger since. I don't know about ticks as our guineas completely eradicated them.

trois