Baltimore Oriole

The bird that made grape jelly a feeder staple. Baltimore Orioles breed across the eastern half of the continent, weaving hanging pouch-nests in elm and cottonwood crowns, then vanish to Central America — though a growing winter population now stays at feeders in the Southeast instead.

Range

Breeds from the East Coast to the eastern Great Plains and up into central Canada. Winters mainly from Mexico to northern South America, with increasing numbers wintering in Florida, the Gulf states, and the Carolina coastal plain.

Migration timing

Crosses the Gulf in early April; arrival sweeps north with astonishing punctuality — the mid-South in mid-April, the Midwest and mid-Atlantic in the last days of April, the northern tier by mid-May. Adults begin drifting south in August, and most are gone from the northern states by early September. Wintering birds settle at Southeast feeders from November.

How to identify one

• Male: blazing orange body with a solid black hood and back, white wingbar — unmistakable in the East
• Female and young: orange-yellow below, grayish wings, variable smudgy back; no black hood
• Rich, flute-like whistled song, delivered from high in shade trees

At the feeder

Grape jelly in a small open dish, orange halves on a spike, and 6:1 nectar all work — the trick is timing. Have everything out two weeks before your state's arrival date; orioles that discover a yard on arrival day often stay the season. Expect the June quiet spell, then a second rush when fledglings appear in July.

Where to find the Baltimore Oriole

FeederDates › Orioles › Species › Baltimore Oriole