ML615055370

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

First year female Baltimore Oriole. Description of the bird: About the size of a Red-winged Blackbird but more slender overall than a Red-winged. The bird's bill is long, slender, and very pointed. The back of the bird is bluish-gray with indistinct, broken streaks. Head (crown) plumage color similar to back but with a yellowish wash on the face. Wings (when folded) appear dark with one bold white wing bar and one less distinct white wing bar. The breast is a "warm" yellowish-orange; belly appears to be white. The tail is dark--mostly dark orange (orange color most obvious when the bird flies and the tail feathers are spread) while the under tail coverts are similar to the breast color i.e., yellowish-orange. This individual has been present in my yard since at least New Year’s Day, 2024. When I first observed the bird on 1 Jan. 2024, it was feeding with a group of American Goldfinches on sunflower chips on a ground feeder. Since that initial observation, I have had a single observation of the oriole feeding on suet and another single observation of the bird feeding on an orange half. The oriole apparently favors meal worms which I have provided since 1 Jan. 2024. Behavior: the oriole is skittish and wary. Difficult to photograph but I have managed to photograph it a number of times through a window pane. Baltimore Orioles are uncommon at my location. My observations of them are always during spring migration with one observation of an adult male in November years ago.

Technical information

Model

FinePix S2550HD

ISO

64

Focal length

75 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/140 sec

Dimensions

1765 pixels x 1191 pixels

Original file size

464.07 KB