Lens Artists Challenge: Pastimes

One of our favorite pastimes is watching the birds that come to the feeder outside our eat-in kitchen. This week’s Lens Artists Challenge #97 is Pastimes so I thought I would dedicate the post to the new arrivals. For any arrivals to Canada there is now a mandatory 14 day isolation. But that does not apply to the Baltimore Orioles. They are not natives of Baltimore but are named after the 17th Century Lord Baltimore whose heraldic colors were black and orange. They have recently arrived from Mexico, Central America and South America. It is a long trip and they like to eat their favorite food once they get here. Oranges. I cut an orange in half and stick it onto a nail just under the bird feeder.

This brightly colored fellow is the male. The Orioles are able to cut the orange sections with their beaks and then lap up the flesh and the juice with their tongues.
If another bird would appear on the feeder the male Oriole would flare out his wings and his tail to intimidate them with his bright colors.

The female is not so brightly colored and is a smaller bird but still orange and black. She also enjoys the orange halves. If another bird appears she flies at it in attack mode! She will not share that orange!

During the afternoon a Rose Breasted Grosbeak came to take a look at the orange. He gave it a “what the heck is this?” look and left it alone.

When I went out to the feeder to put up a fresh orange the Oriole flew up into a tree, but not too far off, and as soon as he saw the new orange he came down to have some!

We are always entertained by the birds and the Orioles are so impressive with their colors. Thank you Sue from The Nature of Things for this challenge.

Comments

54 responses to “Lens Artists Challenge: Pastimes”

  1. […] Lens Artists Challenge: Pastimes […]

  2. M.B. Henry Avatar

    Beautiful photos!

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you!

  3. Leya Avatar

    Oh glorious colours you have portraited here – orioles are so beautiful. We saw them in South America, and I never got such wonderful photos as you show us here. Thank you very much for posting them and for the interesting information about them. We never have such colourful birds here in Sweden. The migrating birds are a joy to watch.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      We do not have many brightly colored birds here in Eastern Canada. We have the bright red Cardinals and these Orioles to give us color. The bird feeder is a constant source of entertainment. Thank you for commenting !

      1. Leya Avatar

  4. popsiclesociety Avatar

    So beautiful and what a great pastime 😉
    Have the same colors of the orange 🍊😉 🐦

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      It is interesting that they match their favorite food so well. I have read that they also like red grapes. But not green grapes!

      1. popsiclesociety Avatar

        It is indeed very interesting! 🐦😉

  5. TCast Avatar

    Beautiful photos.

    Regards, Teresa
    https://mywanderings.travel.blog/

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you!

  6. scrapydo2.wordpress.com Avatar

    Interesting to know about the oranges. Your photos are awesome.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      It is interesting that they love the oranges. Apparently they also like red grapes but not green ones. Thanks for commenting.

  7. Irene, Heaven's Sunshine Avatar

    These are beautiful photos, Anne. 😊

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you Irene!

  8. cigarman501 Avatar

    We don’t have orioles here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, we have redwing blackbirds which are sort of close…or not. It has been an interesting spring. We have been visited by cedar waxwings, red chested grosbeaks, and a scarlet tanager. All for the first time I have noted them.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      We get a lot of the red wing blackbirds . When they are having a barny (argument) they flare their wings and the red is so striking. We dont see the scarlet tananger at least not at our feeder.

  9. pattimoed Avatar

    Wonderful images, Anne. I love the oriole’s colors and your info about the oranges. Fortunately, they can fly freely from Mexico and have no travel restrictions! Beautiful post.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Yes they can and no need for the 14 day isolation required here in Canada either. Free as a bird!

  10. MichaelStephenWills Avatar

    We have families of breeding Grosbeaks and love them and a brief visit from an Orioles. The board, orange and nail is a great idea.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      I saw it on a birding calendar. The grosbeaks are colorful too. Thanks for your comment Michael.

  11. Emma Cownie Avatar

    I love the colours of these birds – we dont have orioles or the grossbeaks in Wales.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      I think the Orioles live in the Americas only. They are so bright with their orange and black. We dont usually have such brightly colored birds.

  12. JohnRH Avatar

    Great photos. You’re spoiling them! 🙂

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      If they have flown all the way from Mexico or Central America or perhaps Ecuador they deserve some sustenance. I’m happy to spoil them in exchange for their providing me with the entertainment. 😄

  13. Paula Light Avatar

    So pretty ❤️

  14. Tina Schell Avatar

    How odd that one species loves the oranges and another couldn’t care less! Those birds are gorgeous. However did you know the oranges were their favorites Anne??

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      I give donations to a couple of bird organizations and on one of their calendars it had that info. So I thought that I would give it a try. It has been a big success and they eat half an orange a day. They would eat a second half if I put one out! And they eat all the flesh out and leave just a shell of orange peel.

  15. dprastka Avatar

    That’s so interesting! I never new about these birds and how they love oranges. They are so BEAUTIFUL!! Super fun read! Thanks for sharing!! 😀

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      You’re welcome. I can see one out on the feeder now eating the orange. I only put it out at lunch time and I can tell they have made short work of it. I’ll put another half orange out tomorrow morning.

      1. dprastka Avatar

        That’s AWESOME! They are there now! Oranges for the bright orange beautiful birds! 😉

        1. anne leueen Avatar

          Yes! They match!!

  16. Shelley@Quaintrevival.com Avatar

    Hi Anne – I love the photos you captured of the Orioles – isn’t it so much fun to see them when they return up north? You’re right, they can be quite aggressive when it comes to keeping other birds from eating their claimed half of an orange. We hang ours vertically on a post … wonder if we should try the way you put yours to see if it makes a difference? Thank you for sharing such beautiful photos of them! Happy Bird-Watching to you!!

  17. […] I started the day by scrolling down my Reader, looking at what people had published. I came across a post from Anne (from Horse Addict) with a series of beautiful Baltimore orioles pictures she took […]

  18. Gavin and Wyatt Avatar

    These are wonderful images. The orioles of Baltimore are one of my favorite birds. We don’t get to see them in SE Alaska. Your images are a real treat. How special to have one come to your porch!

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Yes it is . We have two males and a female. Although it may be two females I’m not sure. The males often fight over the orange so i know there are two of them.! I’m so happy you liked the photos of one of your favorites.

  19. Amy Avatar

    Beautiful birds, Anne! I love this series. 🙂

  20. Tranature - quiet moments in nature Avatar
    Tranature – quiet moments in nature

    Beautiful images Anne and what a treat to see Orioles in your garden 🧡 xxx

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      It is a treat. The bird feeder is a constant source of entertainment. And the Orioles are just a huge bonus with their color.

  21. sandyjwhite Avatar

    Baltimore Orioles are such stunning birds. We see them only occasionally at our feeders.

  22. Robert Parker Avatar

    I just saw some Baltimore Orioles yesterday, for the first time this year. You took some very nice photos of them, it’s great to have these bright colors flitting around, isn’t it!

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Their colors are so striking. Most of our birds are more subtle. The male cardinal is nice and there are the blue jays but these orioles are really something. They just arrived here last week. Thanks for commenting.

  23. Cyranny Avatar

    Awesome pictures, Anne. It’s funny, because I had never seen a Baltimore oriole before this morning… And suddenly, I have two posts with similar pictures in my reader! Sheyley from Quaint Revival also got a visit from the black and orange fellows 🙂 I thought I’d share her post…

    https://www.quaintrevival.com/the-wild-side-of-breaking-free-from-lockdown/

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      thabnks C I will take a look!

      1. Cyranny Avatar

        I saw your comment on Shelley’s post 😉 Thank you for paying her a visit!! xx

  24. Sue (Mac's Girl) Avatar

    What beautiful images for the challenge, Anne! I’ve tried putting oranges out in the garden, just to see if they would attract anything different from our usual cast of characters but without success. Nicely captured!

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you Sue. I appreciate your comment. We get a lot of the Baltimore Orioles in our area. I think this used to be the limit to the northern extent of their range but with climate change more are coming farther north. I have at least one pair here and I’ve seen two males so there may well be two pairs.

  25. susiesopinions Avatar

    Perfect photos.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thanks Susie!

      1. susiesopinions Avatar

        My pleasure

  26. Subbashini Meenakshi Sundaram Avatar

    To my knowledge I never seen this beautiful bird before and your photography is amazing maa, I am zooming and seeing each picture they are so much clarity.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you Subbashini! They are birds that are in the Americas and for us they are very brightly colored as most of our birds are less brightly colored. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.

  27. nellpar Avatar
    nellpar

    Interesting and beautiful pictures!!

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

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