Written by Linda Hendricks Spence, BirdingBeyondtheFieldGuide.com
Photo above of male western tanager lunging for an insect after feeding on an orange half at the Crane’s Nest feeders. By Dan Streiffert
Last month was a good time to put up your seed feeders for the spring and summer seasons – and if you have not, fear not. Put them up whenever your schedule permits. The birds will find them and use them regardless of whether you put them up today, next week, or next month. Just remember, the sooner you put them up, the sooner you can sit back, relax, and enjoy!
April is a great time to put up the next group of feeders – feeders for orioles and hummingbirds. These birds are primarily insect eaters in spring and summer, but all love fruit any time of the year – or as in the case of hummingbirds, sugary water. First, the orioles.
If you live surrounded by big trees, many of you will have at least one of these orioles in your neighborhood: Baltimore, Bullock’s, or Orchard. If you live in Oregon, the oriole you will most likely see is Bullock’s Oriole. For me, living in central Illinois, we have both the Baltimore Oriole and the Orchard Oriole in our trees. There are other orioles in the continental U.S., but they are rare and have quite limited ranges. But one thing all these orioles have in common is they will come to backyard feeders designed and maintained for them.
The male Baltimore Oriole in the photo above-left is at the feeder in our front yard here in central Illinois. As you can see, we have 2 lovely fresh orange halves placed for him, but he, his mate, and the other 5 orioles who regularly use this feeder completely ignore the oranges and stuff themselves with grape jelly. And it cannot be just any grape jelly either. They actually will ignore anything but Welch’s. I researched this and found it is not just our neighborhood orioles who are picky. Most orioles seem to prefer Welch’s – the theory is it has just the right amount of sugar. My husband, who is our grocery shopper, has to buy the jumbo jars because he fills the cups at least twice a day.
Hummingbirds are quite entertaining at feeders. All hummingbirds fight. In fact, if hummingbirds were the size of Bald Eagles, we would all be dead! Pound for pound – or in the case of hummingbirds, fraction of an ounce for fraction of an ounce, hummingbirds are some of the most aggressive creatures in nature. Do they win all their fights? Absolutely not – they are just so small.
Hummingbirds are beautiful, but they have such foul tempers. They do not like each other or anything else – with one exception. They are drawn to anything red – feeders, flowers, and also the red on outdoor furniture, garden gnomes, and the baseball cap you are wearing. So, consider putting up at least 1 hummingbird feeder – with red on it, of course – and prepare to be entertained.
What to feed orioles and hummingbirds, and how to clean their feeders.
Orioles: Grape jelly and oranges seem to be their favorites. But orioles love fruit so if your feeder has room – you can see in the photo above, ours has 2 cups – try a few darker berries like cherries or black raspberries and also darker grapes.
Hummingbirds: Here is a link for the recipe for the sugar water – it is easy to make and much better for the birds than the ones you can buy (scroll down to Hummingbird Feeders): https://birdingbeyondthefieldguide.com/hummingbirds-gardens-and-feeders/
Cleaning these feeders: The feeders for orioles and hummingbirds must be kept clean. The hotter the weather, the more bacteria there will be, and these bacteria are not good for any of the birds. The sugar water in hummingbird feeders can ferment which is often fatal. If you plan to add these feeders to your yard, mark your calendar to clean the feeders at least every 3 days. And honestly? Our Baltimore Orioles are a mess. They keep themselves scrupulously clean – our feeder is very close to a large birdbath they use every day and love. I don’t know what it is they do at that feeder, but at the end of each day, there are bits of jelly everywhere – including the roof. Like there has been a giant food fight! So, once they start using it, we clean it every day.
Clean oriole and hummingbird feeders with hot water and vinegar in a ratio of 4:1. Use a cloth or brush. Thoroughly clean all the surfaces and let the feeder air dry. Refill. Never use soap, any detergent, or bleach.
And you may be surprised! Orioles and hummingbirds are not the only birds who will use these feeders. At our oriole feeder, we often have House Finches and Gray Catbirds – who are quite feisty and maybe they are responsible for the food fights? Woodpeckers can get quite adept at using hummingbird feeders – especially Downy Woodpeckers who are smaller birds. Woodpecker tongues are long!
I hope all of you consider these feeders plus the seed feeders. Feeders and all the birds who use them will make your garden complete. Your own wildlife refuge!
