Bird of the Month: Baltimore Oriole
Male Baltimore Oriole visiting a fruit feeder. Photo by Jeff Bryant.
By Roger Digges, CCAS Vice-President
One of the brightest, boldest, most colorful members of the avian family is coming to our area this month, all the way from Central America. Soon the woods will be filled with its melodious whistling song. But you don’t need to rush out to see or hear this spectacular bird. Some will be around all summer.
The Baltimore Oriole is a member of the blackbird family, although its black head and back are never the first thing you notice about the male bird. What attracts our attention is the almost impossibly intense orange of its breast and belly as we look up at it perched or gleaning insects near the top of a mature tree. There is no mistaking it with any other bird. The females, as we’ve come to expect in this blog, are naturally more subtle, feathered in more camouflaging dull yellow and orange, with a yellow tail and yellow under the tail. Female Baltimore Orioles can be mistaken for the females of the other, less common, oriole in our area, the Orchard Oriole, which has no trace of orange. Male Orchard Orioles have a chestnut-colored breast and belly rather than orange.
Where can you find Baltimore Orioles in May (and beyond)? You’re much more likely to hear them first than see them. I’ve mentioned the Merlin app before, which is probably the best way to detect and identify a Baltimore Oriole song or call. Once you’ve determined that a male Baltimore Oriole is nearby, look up. Look way up. He will be mostly hidden by the foliage of a tall tree near you, usually one on the edge of a woodland or stream, in a small grove of trees, or your own neighborhood if it hosts a number of mature trees. If you don’t see him right away, keep looking. He’ll eventually pop into sight among the leaves. And enjoy!
If you want to attract Baltimore Orioles to your yard, plant fruit-bearing shrubs and trees like raspberry, crabapples, and other dark fruits. All About Birds suggests cutting oranges in half and hanging the halves from trees in your yard. We have had some success with commercially available feeders, which offer nectar to orioles and also have a place to affix orange halves and put grape jelly. Orioles love sweets and the insects drawn to them.
How are Baltimore Orioles doing? According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, their numbers have declined by 36% over the past five and a half decades. (I certainly remember them being more common in my childhood.) Partners in Flight estimate their population at 12 million, which is still a lot of orioles, but deforestation both here in the US and in Central America and the spraying of insecticides have contributed to the decline. Like many other birds, Baltimore Orioles are distracted by artificial lights and crash into tall buildings or cell towers. Oriole lovers need to advocate for the protection of forests as well as dark-sky friendly lighting.
Female Baltimore Oriole at her hanging nest. Photo by Jeff Bryant.