Baltimore oriole | Birds of New England.com

Photo by Chris Bosak A Baltimore oriole perches on a wire in New England, May 2020. Merganser Lake.

A Day on Merganser Lake

I’m getting a lot of reports about Baltimore orioles this spring. It’s great that so many people are seeing them and getting them to their feeders. I’m hearing that some orioles are going to orange halves, some to nectar feeders and some to suet. I also know that orioles like grape jelly. “My” oriole goes to the suet cake and ignores the oranges, grape jelly and nectar feeder right next to it. His visits are also very short and infrequent. Striking bird, for sure.

(Repeat text for context: I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)

Photo by Chris Bosak A Baltimore oriole perches on a branch in New England, May 2020. Merganser Lake.

A Day on Merganser Lake XVIII

Here’s another first at the feeder for me. It was hard to miss this guy as he perched in a branch outside the window. Wow, the color! He mostly hung out on the branch as if deciding what food to try out. I have oranges and grape jelly offered — two foods orioles are supposed to like. This guy ignored both and grabbed a few bites of suet before moving along.

There will be more photos of this guys coming soon.