We see many types of birds at Chez Gardener over the year. Some are permanent residents, some pop in and out all year and others are seasonal transients, on their way to their breeding grounds. Typical transients for our area include various warblers, white crowned sparrows and, of course, orioles. We usually see orioles for a few weeks in the spring but they never seem to stay and nest.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge.
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There are all kinds of different orioles around the country and the one we see is the Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula. When we visited Cape Cod in the spring one year, we finally discovered where all the orioles were headed! All the trees in the Audubon preserve were hung with the grass baskets the orioles weave as nests. Both Baltimore and Orchard orioles were everywhere, the way sparrows are here at home.
I’ve always loved the orioles and felt a little disappointed that they don’t stick around but that doesn’t dull the thrill of hearing their song and spotting the first one of spring. Yesterday, my darling spouse had that pleasure while he was taking Gracie the Wonder Pug for her morning constitutional. He heard the call and it was so insistent and loud that he started hunting around for the source. A lovely male oriole rewarded his search.
A few months ago, during a winter doldrums depression, I ordered an oriole feeder that was on sale, dreaming of spring and a bright orange bird. It’s a cute little feeder, with a large bowl for jelly and spikes to stick orange halves on. I figured we probably wouldn’t get an oriole but we have two catbirds that reliably return every year and they like jelly, too, so I put it out when the weather approximated early spring. Naturally, they ignored it utterly but the blue jays would occasionally sample it so I left it up. And here is what my darling spouse was treated to once he spotted his bird.
Luckily, Mr. Oriole stuck around and I got to see him myself when I got home from work. I gave him some fresh jelly and admired his acrobatics and beautiful call myself. He stayed around for quite a while last evening then headed off on mysterious bird errands or possibly a snooze. Hopefully, he will stay around for a few weeks or, if we’re really lucky, he’ll find a mate and stick around to raise his family.
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