A splash of orange and black and a cheerful, flute-like song repeated over and over from a treetop would be good indicators that a Baltimore oriole is nesting nearby. Mature male Baltimore orioles, the singers, are certainly a sight to behold. They have flaming orange plumage topped with whole-head black hoods. Their tails and wings are also black and orange and each wing is accented with a white wingbar.
Females are a yellowish-orange with mostly gray/tan wings and tail. First-year males (at this time of year) are not bright and have only the beginnings of their black hood.
You may have an older field guide (1973-95) that lists the Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) by a different common name. Because of hybridization with the western Bullock’s oriole, ornithologists had lumped both species together and renamed them the northern oriole. More recent DNA evidence has since returned them to separate status.
The Baltimore oriole was originally named after Lord Baltimore, the founder of the English colony of Maryland, because the orange and black matched Baltimore’s heraldic colors. It is the state bird of our southern neighbor, Maryland.
They breed throughout Pennsylvania and most of the eastern U.S. and southern Canada. Volunteers providing data for the “Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania” (2012) found nesting Baltimore orioles in every county of the state, with the number of Baltimore orioles holding steady. It is estimated that in 2012, there were about 330,000 singing male Baltimore orioles in the Keystone State.
Author Scott Weidensaul in his book “Living On The Wind,” commented on the daytime resting and feeding of Baltimore orioles during their spring migration.
“I’ll often see Baltimore orioles, which love deciduous forests, cheek-to-jowl with orange Blackburnian warblers, which nest in conifers — two birds the color of a glowing campfire, setting in the morning light.”
Pairing and nest-building begin shortly after the birds arrive from the south in early May. I used to see my first Baltimore orioles while birding at Bald Eagle State Park the first weekend in May, but more recently it has been from home. This year Baltimore orioles, rose-breasted grosbeaks and a catbird all arrived on April 29 — 11 days later than last year. In 2018, I was thrilled to see one male show up on the morning of May 2. My excitement was intensified as I watched a second, a third, a fourth and then a fifth male Baltimore oriole land on my deck.
Young were reported in nests in Pennsylvania as late as mid-August, but the peak of nesting activity is mid-June. Males stake out territories in rural to suburban semi-open habitat. They are particularly attracted to land near larger streams and forest/farm-edge habitat.
For my first 35 years of living in the Bald Eagle Valley I had no Baltimore orioles on my property. And that makes sense, because my 35 acres were almost totally wooded — not oriole habitat. A few years ago, both of my neighbors timbered their properties and I had a logging operation to sell my many dying white ash trees before the wood became rotten. Baltimore orioles showed up the following year and I believe that I housed at least three nesting pairs last summer.
Females use horse hairs, grasses, milkweed, vines and other plant fibers to weave a hanging sack-type of nest that is typically suspended from a branch high in a tree. Nests measure about four-byeight inches. I have been lucky enough to watch nest-building activity on several occasions. During nest-building season, the orioles are often seen on my deck pulling fibers from my coconut planters.
Their favorite nest tree species was the now blight-killed American elm. They often nest in the branches of silver maple, willow or sycamore trees that over-hang rivers. On my property they have used tall oak and cherry trees. Three to six grayish eggs are incubated for 12 to 14 days. The young are ready to fledge the nest within another two weeks.
This species feeds primarily on insects, with hairy caterpillars being among its favorites, but they also love mulberries, blackberries and blueberries. While in Central America, Weidensaul observed male Baltimore orioles tearing apart flowers to sip their nectar. Baltimore, as well as orchard orioles, can be attracted to drink hummingbird nectar (sugar water) from an open dish or a feeder designed for orioles. They are doing that at my feeders this spring.
I had read that orioles also like grape jelly and orange marmalade. Special “orange” suet cakes are also advertised as being for orioles. At my house, the suet cakes have been a bust, but this year the orioles are eating regular suet. Grape jelly was and is by far their favorite — I am emptying a 30-ounce jar of grape jelly about every three days. I opened my sixth jar May 17.
The catbirds helped the orioles eat the grape jelly last summer. This year the orioles are joined by both catbirds and robins at the grape jelly feeder.
Enjoy watching and listening to the beautiful songs of these flaming splashes of orange for about another nine weeks. Orioles start leaving for their southern wintering grounds in early August. All will usually be gone by mid-month.
