Welcome, Oriole~

To hear an oriole sing
May be a common thing,
Or only a divine.

It is not of the bird
Who sings the same, unheard,
As unto crowd.

The fashion of the ear
Attireth that it hear
In dun or fair.

So whether it be rune,
Or whether it be none,
Is of within;

The "tune is in the tree,"
The sceptic showeth me;
"No, sir! In thee!

                                                - Emily Dickinson

 
Orioles have a habit of showing up unexpectedly in our backyard. Two years ago one surprised us with a brief visit to our hummingbird feeder. I was so thrilled to see the bright yellow visitor perched near our kitchen window that we promptly went out and bought an Oriole feeder. 

I happily placed an orange half and grape jelly on the feeder but never saw the Oriole again that year! boohoo~ Last year I wanted to be prepared, so as soon as I thought an Oriole might make a visit, I hung the feeder in the yard and waited. And waited. Out of the blue one day - literally! - one appeared. I grabbed my camera and managed to get a couple of photos. Alas, it did not feed but departed within minutes.

I am somewhat new to bird watching, so I do not know if this is a male or female. Anyone know the sex and species? I'm guessing it's a female. It landed on the hummingbird feeder again and did not sample the jelly and orange pieces we had ready. We did not see this bird for the rest of the season, so the Oriole feeder was put away unused again.

 Guess who came for lunch today? Yep, the pretty yellow Oriole! She landed on the hummingbird feeder, but quickly flew to the sundial, then to the pot of Four O'Clocks before flying away. I wanted to yell "come back!"  I quickly got the jelly and oranges ready and took them outside. Ugh! Our timing was off. I am crossing my fingers she returns for the snacks we have waiting.

Attracting Orioles
Orioles are attracted in the summer with sugar-water nectar at oriole feeders, but they do need perches in order to use these feeders. Many other foods will also lure the oriole, such as: suet, suet mixtures, peanut butter mixtures, doughnuts, pie crust, white bread soaked in milk, halved apples and oranges, cooked raisins, grapes, pieces of banana and grape or strawberry jelly.



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