The Bird Family

Each spring, around lateMarch, beautiful birds that are called Baltimore Orioles (Mark calls them Oreos and wants to know if they can be dunked in milk) come migrating up from the south on their way home to who knows where. I think that their final destination in March, April, early June must still be too cold and not enough of a food supply to go all the way home at once. So, they stop off in our area for a month or so. If you put out a nectar feeder (not the kind for hummingbirds, but for Orioles; the hummers can feed off of it too), you'll be lucky enough to be graced with their presence. They feed one at a time and the females have to defer to the males feeding first before they can. I usually know when they are around as I can hear their distinctive announcement before they come into the yard. As though they are "testing" the waters or perhaps calling to see if another one like themselves are already there. The calling ritual before they come to the feeder is interesting to watch. I have a feeder outside of my library room window so that I can watch the nectar feeding birds unobtrusively. It's always a thrill to watch these birds as they are quite striking in their colors. The males are a vibrant hansa yellow (on their undersides) with the top part a jet black. Such a dramatic contrast of colors! Well, this spring, I was a bit tardy in getting my nectar feeder out even with Jim Warner sending me an email reminding me to put my feeder out as he had spotted the birds arrival. By the time I got mine out, they had given up hope on me and moved on to other feeders. They were all probably at Jim's house! So, I felt very remiss about not getting to see my colorful feathered friends this summer. However, back in July when we were at the Tamaya Hotel for some late afternoon drinks, my husband spotted these baby Orioles up in the tree in the parking lot. When he spotted them, they were all lined up in a row awaiting mama bird's feeding. She would fly in and feed them. Apparently, they were too many of them and they were too big to fit in the nest. Hence, they had taken to hanging out on the branch huddled up for security. When I got out there to take theses photos, one of them was particularly skittish, as you can see it huddling behind another sibling. I had no idea these birds actually nested here; perhaps it was an exception to the rule. But, at least I did get to see my colorful friends. Even better was this added treat of seeing these young babies!