Vibrant visitors

We have managed to attract a greater variety of birds to our backyard feeding station this summer. The most recent, and most exciting for me, is a pair of Baltimore orioles. I have a list of 30 birds I hope to blip (photograph) this spring and summer, and the oriole is at the top of the list, along with the indigo bunting, green heron, and a select few others. Last week an oriole took a few sips from our hummingbird feeder, but didn’t return. Then two days ago he was back, so I convinced my husband that we should set out a feeding station especially for the oriole. We did and then for two more days we didn’t see him. There were lots of other birds, but no orioles. Yesterday we realized someone had been nibbling at the food we put out because the grape jelly was gone, and who else would eat grape jelly? Today, after a lot of patient watching, camera in hand, I finally got the pictures I was hoping for. (Click on any picture below to bring up the gallery.)

The male is so much more vibrant than the female, but that’s usually the way with birds. The variation in color of the first female is (I’m guessing) a result of the background and the light. I took it earlier in the morning than the rest of the pictures. I hope you enjoyed seeing these as much as I am enjoying them. Orange is one of my favorite colors. What more could I ask for than orange orioles?

That’s it for today from the north coast of Ohio. This has been a beautiful, sunny summer day. Thanks for stopping by to enjoy it with me.

Carolyn aka Skip