Early last week it was unseasonably cold and wet. I'm talking +7 C and 10 - 15 mm of rain each day. Just not what we hope for in the middle of May, and neither did the Baltimore Orioles. Normally we may see 4 to 6 males around this time as they move through, and one or two will stay with us, finding mates and raising families in the neighbourhood. That cold wet spell sure boosted the number of Baltimore Orioles. Highest count was 22 birds all here at once!
It was a crazy awesome time. We couldn't keep up with feeding all these birds with just our 3 feeders, offering nectar (sugar water), orange halves and grape jelly. My mother donated a big bag of oranges and a few jars of jelly to the cause. I also made a make shift feeder using a slab of wood, driving some nails through it as spikes for old orange halves and filling them with grape jelly. It was obvious the birds were desperate as they were diving into my yard waste bin, going after all the discarded orange skins, and some even sat upon my jelly jar helping themselves while I was out back. Here are a few photos of the party.
The make shift feeder.
Just a few birds here.
A few more.
How many Orioles can you see here? 14 is what I see.
Another 7 waiting for a turn at the picnic table.
The kicker was this banded Baltimore Oriole. I wanted to try for his band numbers but couldn't sit outside through the steady rain with my camera. Also having 22 Orioles flying around, often chasing each other, no way this guy was sitting still for very long.
This fall out of Orioles only lasted a few days. Once things warmed up and dried out, the birds were moving along. I'm happy to report that we still have at least 6 birds.
Thanks for stopping in. Cheers to you all on Whisky Wednesday!
