Baltimore-Oriole feeding from hummingbird feeder

Each fall untold numbers of birds migrate through our backyards flying to their wintering grounds throughout Latin America. One such bird is the Baltimore oriole.

Recently Ron and Jennie Lee hosted a Baltimore oriole in their Henry County backyard. The bird stayed but a day drinking nectar from one of their hummingbird feeders.

If you would like to invite a migrating Baltimore oriole to your yard, there are a few things that you can do. First of all, like the Lees, you can maintain a hummingbird feeder stocked with fresh nectar. If you do so, make sure your feeder has perches. Orioles can’t hover like hummingbirds and would have a tough time trying to drink nectar from a feeder without perches.

Also, make sure that orioles have access to the sugar water. Some feeders are equipped with removable bee guards. While they do an excellent job keeping bees at bay, they also prevent orioles from feeding. If you remove at least one of the guards, your feeder should be oriole accessible.

Orioles can also be attracted with fruit. For some reason, orioles are drawn to oranges. Simply cut oranges in half and place them in a platform feeder or impale them on tree limbs. You can also purchase feeders designed to feed fruit to wild birds.

Baltimore orioles also relish other foods such as apple slices, raisins, grapes, pecan meats and bananas.

Another great oriole food is jelly. Time and again, folks that have hosted orioles have me that the birds prefer grape jelly above all others. The jelly can be fed in small plastic sauce containers placed in platform feeders.