Baltimore Oriole Feeding

It's been a slow spring.  By my records, wildflower blooms and migrating birds are at least three weeks late arriving.   So, I have been busy with a massive revision to my photo file, but it was not my first choice.  Yesterday I saw a good clear and calm morning that was perfect.  And, nearby apple trees were finally coming into bloom. I've always seen good numbers of birds in the flowering trees, but I have never been able to determine what they were feeding on.  Were the Baltimore Orioles somehow getting nutrition from the flowers themselves?  After all, it is common for people to put out orange halves and dishes of grape jelly for orioles.  Is there also nectar in the apple blossoms for them?  Well, I came home with a series of four colorful images that answered my question.

This colorful male came into my view at the top of a large apple tree that had just come into bloom.

 He began probing in the open blossoms.

 Soon his beak emerged with a caterpillar.

He shook it a bit and then it was up and in with a little flip of his head.  Down it went.

So, the answer is that the Baltimore Oriole was there for the high protein caterpillar.

The tree was alive with other birds including Redwing Blackbirds, Gold Finches and warblers.   The larger birds tended to be in the outer parts of the tree and also towards the top. The smaller birds were mostly in the denser parts.   They were more difficult to track.  There was one Tennessee Warbler that sometimes ventured to the edges.  Take a look at him.

There is a small caterpillar in the the tip of his beak.  He was there for the same thing.

Now, it is dark and misting.  Back to the computer.

Best,

Paul Schmitt

Sandwiched!

Looking at some of my blogs, one might conclude that every outing yields results, but what could I show on those days when I am blanked? On some rare days, the opposite happens and I am sandwiched between good subjects.  That happened recently when I had returned to the previously shown Red-headed Woodpecker nesting  cavity.  I'd known that there were two Baltimore Oriole nests nearby; one on each side of the woodpeckers. I found myself timing the activity at each nest and anticipating where I should (literally) focus.

At the woodpecker nest, one adult is incubating inside, and  peers out the opening every five minutes seemingly looking for the next shift to report.

After several scans of the area, it  exits the cavity and takes a series of long stretches, alternating which wing is extended. It then quickly re-enters the tree.

When this is over, I realign to the Baltimore Oriole nest hanging high over the road in a Cottonwood tree. The male comes streaking in at a speed that makes it difficult to anticipate when to capture the bird in flight.

Look closely and you can spy a juicy spider in its beak.  Could they be feeding chicks?

He approaches the intricately woven nest.  This is so exciting that I am forgetting about the woodpeckers!

The male drops deeply into the nest and after several dips inward and outward, his task must be complete....

..for he is away in a flash.

Now, perhaps I have not missed anything at the other nest.  Back to it.  That adult repeats the exit and stretch, this time  becoming vocal.  I think the message is clearly for the other woodpecker.  So, I bounce back and forth between the two nests, hoping to capture the birds in flight.  Just before leaving, the second woodpecker arrives.

Pretty amazing day.  Still, I must note that my next stop is a zero.  It's about patience, persistence and preparation.  Remember the successes; accept the waits and failures.  Know the equipment, so mistakes don't prevent the successes.

I will re-read this blog on days when I come home empty (like yesterday's search for a Pileated Woodpecker nest).

Paul

Orioles in Spring

Sometimes the mowing and such keeps me close to home, but that's okay.  On a recent day I went over to the small (and I mean really small) town park in my neighborhood.  It's so small they don't even have a set of swings, but I digress. That little park can have some nice birds in the spring.

While I was talking with a passing neighbor, I noticed movement in the adjacent power line.  Swinging the camera over to the action, I found a very colorful male Baltimore Oriole. There are a lot of dead weed stalks  on the power line. They are left over from last year.  These stalks are attractive to these Orioles because they  weave a hanging pouch for a nest. The dead stalks  have the long fibers that are ideal for their needs.




So it was that this bird disappeared into the tangle and reappeared with some fibers.  Almost simultaneously, a female appeared nearby.  She must have been on the same mission for good materials.

What happened next was the sort of behavior that draws me to watching and photographing birds.  The male laid the fibers on her back and proceeded to mate with her, while she still held her own set of fibers in her beak.  This all happened very quickly.










The male Oriole retired to a nearby bush and I could still see his set of nest fibers on her back.





















She collected the fibers from her back. A moment later both Orioles were winging up the hillside towards some treetop to add to their nest. I've seen Oriole nests, and it strikes me that they must repeat this trip to find nest fibers a hundred times over each day for days to take the next step and deposit eggs into the nest. Such persistence!

Paul