Orange Arrival: Showy orioles have returned to the area
May 13—The showy orioles have arrived back in Minnesota in the past week or so, after leaving their winter homes in Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, and the northern tip of South America. They migrate at night and descend in our area looking for food and nesting areas.
The most common oriole in Minnesota are the Baltimore orioles, with the males sporting flame orange with a solid-black head and one white bar on their black wings. But there are also two other orioles here.
The orchard oriole has a reddish chestnut color with a black hood and throat. The Bullock's oriole is the least common with an orange to yellowish color and a large white wing patch.
Orioles are among the few birds that eat ripe fruit, such as mulberries, cherries, and oranges. They also drink nectar from flowers and feeders, similar to hummingbirds.
Orioles are attracted to the color orange, so putting out orange slices and orange feeders works best to attract them.
Oranges sliced in half and grape jelly placed in a cup, is a treat that orioles find hard to resist.
As summer descends they look for insects to eat.
They will sometimes eat sunflower seeds and suet, but prefer sweeter nectars and bugs.
This time of year, female orioles are looking for large, sturdy trees to build their unique sock-like hanging nests, woven together from slender fibers.
