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Barry Kant
Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Brighton, ON, Canada
Description
Completed Baltimore Oriole nest in the trees around the lighthouse in Presqu’ile Provincial Park.
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Species
Baby Sitting While Mom Is Looking For Food
6 responses to “Baby Sitting While Mom is Looking for Food”
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For years Ive been trying to attract and hold in my area, the beautiful Baltimore Orioles. Orange haves, feeders, jelly etc. They appear in spring but move on by June. Until this year. Finally they stayed 2019.
It is December 10, cold and windy. On a walk up my long driveway, which is lined with large Silver Maples, I spied a nest. I knew immediately is was the nest sack of the Baltimore Oriole. So excited but some what disheartened. In the bottom of the nest is the circus of two tiny baby orioles. What would have caused this? Is this odd or frequent?
Hi Barbara, Unfortunately, it is fairly common that bird nests are not successful – in fact, a little over half of all bird nests do not succeed. This is a large part of why birds lay so many eggs and often have more than one brood per year – to make up for these inevitable losses. Without monitoring during the breeding season, it’s hard to predict what could have happened here, but food shortages or bad weather can often cause nest failure, as well as predators. It’s also possible that there were more nestlings in the nest, and some of them did fledge. If you have further questions, please email us at nestwatch@cornell.edu.
Hello, We’re in Illinois and we’re hoping to get Baltimore Orioles. We recently got an oriole nectar feeder & a jelly feeder. Any other advice to get baltimore orioles to visit? Thank you
Hi Jennifer – We recommend checking out the FeederWatch website; Orioles generally come to orange slices and grape jelly, or a sugar water ratio that’s a bit weaker than that for hummingbirds (1:6 for orioles, 1:4 for hummingbirds). Learn more about offering sugar water and fruit here.
I enjoy feeding the Orioles in the Spring. They come back to my feeding stations every year. They don’t stay long here in NE Ks. Do they nest once then leave?
Hi Mica, Baltimore Oriole nest across the eastern US, including Kentucky. Often, they’re seen more at feeders just after they arrive back from migration, but some visit feeders all spring/summer long. Birds are seen less during the nesting period, as they are spending more time building the nest, incubating eggs, and feeding young. Additionally, orioles are particularly hidden since their nests are built high up in the canopies of trees. It’s more likely that you’ll hear them nearby rather than see them (listen to their song here). Orioles do usually only have one brood per season, and it takes about one month from the last egg laid through to fledging. Some of the most northern birds may start migrating a soon as July back to their wintering grounds in south Florida, the Caribbean, Central America and the tip of South America.