Winter Orioles
Baltimore Orioles are one of my favorite, locally breeding songbirds. During the spring, I love hearing their loud, clear, flute-like whistled song broadcast from the treetops. Locating the source is usually fairly easy given the male's vivid orange body and matte black head. In addition to the whistled call, they frequently make an almost mechanical chattering sound. I look foward to hunting down their finely woven, hanging basket nest, which is often accented with colorful bits of discarded ribbon or string.
The orioles that nest in Brooklyn usually have a brief breeding season, with many heading south as early as July. Described as a medium to long-distance migrant, most winter in Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America. Here's a range map from Cornell's "All About Birds" website:
Their usual diet consists of insects, berries and nectar. In Brooklyn's historic Green-Wood Cemetery there is apparently a lot to eat as several pair nest there every year.
I was motivated to write this post as I've been watching an overwintering pair at Green-Wood since December 13th of last year. Their plumage is much more subdued in the winter, but they are still a nice bright spot in a mostly drab landscape. The orioles were first observed feeding on the small red fruit of a spawling yew tree at Pastoral Dell. Yew trees provide an important source of food to many animals, especially when other trees, such as, holly and persimmon are depleted. Over the course of two weeks I noticed that they were actually remaining in a relatively small area along Hillock Avenue. There are several yews in that area and the two orioles would regularly move between them.
Eventually I could not longer find them at those trees. I didn't think that they suddenly decided to leave New York and head to the tropics, but rather another source of food was found.
Approximately 200 yards south of the yew trees in a small protected valley is a manmade pond named "Dell Water". There are huge fluctuations in the water level, but there's always enough to attract wildlife. Deep leaf litter on the surrounding ridges and a general "messy" habitat makes it a prime spot for birds. The cemetery maintains winter bird feeding stations here, plus, there are about a dozen honeybee hives. The latter will become an important point. On January 2nd I encountered both the orioles at Dell Water.
I wasn't sure what they were eating as I didn't notice them chowing down on the abundant mixed seed or thistle. Ultimately, I saw one nibbling on the suet feeder. Occasionally, they'd break off pieces, fly to a distant section of grass and eat it away from all the other birds.
Apparently, orioles cannot survive on suet alone. On January 14th I noticed one of them foraging in the leaves that had collected below the bee hives. It appeared to be finding some small insects, then flying to an adjacent crabapple to devour it. I watched it going back and forth for about 15 minutes wondering what it was eating. When I uploaded my photos to the computer I saw what should have been obvious. It was eating dead honeybees. Subsequently, I observed that they figured out bees can also be found inside the hive openings. Note that on a couple of mild days, the honeybees were actively moving around at the entrance to some of the hives. That might explain the red welt at the corner of one oriole's mouth. Oops.
This is not the first Brooklyn winter that I've seen Baltimore Oriole hanging around. In fact, on the annual Christmas Bird Count, this species has become semi-regular. So, it begs the question, why are a pair of neotropic songbirds sticking around in the northeast? In an article by Terry W. Johnson of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, the author writes:
"For untold thousands of years, Baltimore orioles have traditionally wintered
far south of the U.S. in southern Mexico southward to Columbia. Consequently,
they were rarely, if ever, seen in North America in winter."
"However, as long ago as the 1890s, a smattering of Baltimore orioles began
showing up at bird feeders during the winter. Thereafter, from time to time, one
would be spotted in the northern U.S. Then, for reasons we do not fully
understand, by 1950 these gorgeous birds were regularly appearing in small
numbers across New England."
"In the years since, sightings have come in from feeder watchers as far south as
the Carolinas and Georgia. Now Baltimore orioles are regular winter visitors
throughout much of eastern North America."
Perhaps many more people putting out feeders in the winter, plus the planting of more fruiting botanics have made it easier for the Baltimore Oriole to survive cold winters. Whatever the reasons, I look forward to seeing this fascinating species more often...maybe even year-round.
Posts
