We started bringing out orange halves for the Baltimore Orioles a few weeks ago and although a couple have shown up and now stop daily to pick the fruit, the most frequent visitor to the oranges is cat.
They are two very different birds. Orioles (males) are bright orange, black and white while catbirds are an understated slate gray all over with a dark cap and rust under the tail. Like the exaggerated Baltimore oriole, you really can’t confuse them with any other bird. It is the only North American bird with uniform gray plumage.
The songs of these two species are also very different. Both are migratory, arriving in our area in time for the insects. Cornell Lab’s “All About Birds” references the pure, liquid, hissing tones of the male Baltimore Oriole as a harbinger of spring in eastern North America. The same could be said for the confusing mixture of hissing, squealing, gurgling, moaning, imitations of other birds’ and frogs’ songs, and even mechanical sounds, as well as their characteristic hoarse “meow” ( hence the name catbird).
For me, having these two birds, along with a host of others, come to my feeders (which I will be taking down soon to avoid attracting bears) makes me happy that we have such a diversity of life in our backyards. -course and that this diversity has managed to adapt quite well to humans. Both of these birds love the kind of open forest and forest edge that are common in suburban areas. Baltimore orioles make those distinctive hanging nests high in deciduous trees, often hanging over roads, rivers or fields, while catbirds prefer the thickets we provide when we cut down forests and leave tangles of shrubs and vines proliferate at the edge of our lawns and roadsides.
Unfortunately, the diversity and abundance of bird life in my backyard is nothing like what was here in pre-colonial times. One thing we can all do, if we own a home in the suburbs (or city or country), is plant native species that provide food and habitat for our birds. Bird feeders can both help and hurt – disease transmission can be very high at feeding stations where large numbers of birds congregate and mix. Keeping feeders clean helps with this. But I think the feeders are worth it. The extra calories provided by bird feeders can help balance out all the other stressors that humans have placed on birds.
Over the years, my approach to food has evolved. I try to avoid giving the birds the equivalent of junk food. I used to pull out the cheapest grape jelly for orioles, but realizing I wouldn’t eat it myself, I switched to jelly with organically grown grapes and no flavorings, artificial colors or sweeteners. More recently I have stopped offering jelly in favor of fruit as it is a more natural source of sugar. In addition to oranges, Baltimore orioles love dark fruits and will bypass green grapes for purples, and wait for cherries and blackberries to become as ripe and dark as possible.
Catbirds are so fond of all kinds of fruit, from wild berries to cultivated fruits, that they can even become pests and destroy crops. I like to put raisins for catbirds. Catbirds really, really like soaked raisins, but most fruits will do. That said, in the summer, young chicks of both species are fed almost entirely on insects that provide the protein needed for growth, so those oranges and raisins are most likely adult food.
The arrival of orioles, mockingbirds and other migratory birds heralds not so much spring as insect season. I try to remember this when I’m chased inside by swarms of black flies, mosquitoes or deer flies. These insects attract more birds to my garden than any bird feeder.
Susan Pike, researcher and teacher of environmental science and biology at Dover High School, welcomes your ideas for future topic topics. She is looking for readers to send her the signs of spring they notice so she can document them on her site pikes-hikes.com. Send your photos and observations to [email protected] Read more of her Nature News columns online at Seacoastonline.com and pikes-hikes.com, and follow her on Instagram @pikeshikes.
