Oriole Oriole
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Oriole Migration Update: May 3, 2001

Today's Report Includes:

Orioles Flooding In!
With 146 new sightings, Baltimore Orioles having been pouring in, reaching many places a bit earlier than usual! The Journey North migration map shows how quickly they moved north. Some people in northern states who set out oranges in hopes of seeing an oriole in a day or two were shocked to see orioles chowing down just minutes later!

What made the orioles move so quickly? Excellent migration was seen on NEXRAD maps, as all kinds of neotropical migrants flooded north last week. John Idzikowski of Milwaukee, WI, who has been helping Journey North learn about these maps, watches NEXRAD maps in hopes of seeing migrants headed his way. For three days at the end of April, John saw fairly big migrations on the map, but all the birds were moving north non-stop, and most were too far from Milwaukee for him to see the birds. That all changed the night of April 29-30, 2001. On the NEXRAD map for the night you can see a big migration over Wisconsin.

NEXRAD maps of Milwaukee during heavy bird migration.

Heavy migration the night of April 29-30 near Milwaukee, Wisconsin

At dawn April 30, birds over Lake Michigan scrambled to get back to land

At dawn, when the tired birds found themselves over Lake Michigan, they flooded to shore, right toward eagerly waiting John! He writes that birders were finding lots of new birds along the Lake Michigan shoreline, including a host of warblers, catbirds, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and ORIOLES. Were some of those orioles yours?
To learn how to use NEXRAD maps to interpret bird migration in your area, see:

Compare Last Year and This Year
How does the oriole migration of Spring, 2000 compare with the migration of Spring, 2001? A glance at the maps tells the story.

Spring 2000

Spring 2001

Here's how to compare the two migrations:
1. Compare the 2000 and 2001 maps. What differences do you notice?

2. Give a verbal description of the Spring, 2001 migration, such as:

  • The spring, 2001 migration appears to be (ahead/behind) of the Spring, 2000 migration.
  • For example, you can see this by describing how far north the sightings were during a particular week in 2000 compared to the same week in 2001, (i.e." during the week of April 24-30 in 2000, the farthest north the orioles were seen was______, but in that same week in 2001 the orioles had been seen as far north as______)

3. Summarize your observations and draw conclusions.

A Swift Trip
Hundreds of orioles arrived across the north in the space of a day or two! An observer in Grafton, WI, reported EIGHT male Baltimore orioles at the oranges in the backyard. (If you're wondering where the females were, see David Aborn's answer to Challenge Question #4, below.) The big burst of sightings leads us to ask:

Challenge Question #6:
"Why do you think orioles push northward during a single week in late April or early May, while hummingbirds gradually move northward for 8-10 weeks from March to mid-May?"

Clues like these will help you:

  • Compare the wintering grounds and breeding grounds of each species.
  • Consider each species' food requirements.
  • Consider each species' habitat requirements.
  • Think about the physical characteristics of each bird (size, weight, wingspan, etc.).

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Dr. Aborn's Weather Forecast for the Birds

Dr. David Aborn

Migration is in full swing! David says, "While there have not been any major cold fronts to force birds to land the last week or so, we are entering the peak of migration in many areas." Get set for some good birdwatching!

How will this week's weather affect birdwatching? David has this answer: "There is a cold front stalled across the middle of the country. This front brought very bad weather to places like Minnesota and Wisconsin, and will continue to bring storms throughout the Great Plains and Midwest. That means that migrants flying north will have to land and wait for the weather to clear when they reach those areas. Places in the Ohio Valley should see lots of birds the next few days. For people in the south and east, the front is not expected to move, which means winds will continue from the south. Migrants will love those southerly winds for flying north."

Find the weather map and read more about the steady stream of migrants in David's complete letter here:

Put Out the Welcome Mat!
Now that orioles are arriving, check this site for everything you need to know--ways to attract orioles as well as lists of nest building materials, oriole treats, and recipes for your feeder:

You'll also want to print:

Nasty for Nests: Try This to Prove It!
To help you choose good nesting materials to set out for birds, try this experiment first. Collect a clump of dryer lint. Get it thoroughly wet and let it dry. Does the lint crumble or hold together? Does it still feel soft?

The lesson is this: NEVER set out dryer lint for birds! It feels soft and wonderful to us and to birds, but doesn't hold up after a rain. Also, make sure you don't set out ANY strings or yarns longer than 6 inches. Parents or babies can get tangled or even strangled in long strings.

How Orioles Fill the Bill

Photo by Chan Robins.

Orioles have three things on their menu: insects, fruit, and nectar. How much of each they eat depends on what's available. Usually, they eat mostly insects in spring and early summer during breeding. Fruits make up more of their diet from midsummer into fall, when fruits have ripened. They take nectar whenever flowers are in bloom, which is mostly during spring and summer. During their tropical winter they eat all three.

Eating insects, fruits, and nectar may sound easy, but if you had only a bill for a tool you might need a few tricks to try--like "gaping." If anyone ever told you to quit gaping, you know that your mouth was hanging open. Gaping is important if you're an oriole or other member of the blackbird family. (That's blackbirds, grackles, meadowlarks, and cowbirds in the US and Canada.) This whole family practices this special type of feeding. The bird places its closed bill into a food source and then opens wide to expose or break into the food. A scientist described this in 1953: "The bill is thrust into the fruit closed. It is then pried open against the resistance of the pulp, giving the brushy tongue access to the juice."

These birds have especially strong muscles for opening their bills. Poke-and-gape feeding might not work for you (try it!) but it's great for certain birds! Orioles use gaping in these ways:
  • To pry into curled leaves when looking for caterpillars
  • To get to the soft insides of caterpillars that are covered with hair or spines, then licking the juices with their tongues.
  • To poke into the base of a flower, push the petals and sepals aside, and lick up the nectar.
  • To poke through the thick peel of a fruit to get at the pulp and, especially, the juice.

Have you noticed that many orioles have black on their faces? The black may provide more than just a pretty face. Some experts believe the short, bristly feathers between the eye and bill of a bird in the blackbird family may be dark for a reason. They say the dark feathers may help keep reflected light from interfering with the birds seeing prey items where they have gaped. Look in a field guide and see if you can find a blackbird with a brightly-colored head. If your guide shows a picture of a Yellow-headed Blackbird, look at the black feathers around its eyes. Do you think these feathers just might work like baseball players putting black grease or tar on their face to protect their eyes from glare?

Challenge Question #7:
Look in a field guide at the bills of orioles, Red-winged Blackbirds, starlings, and other birds that gape. What do their bills have in common? How does the shape of their bills help with gaping?

Challenge Question #8:
"For what other uses does an oriole need its beak? Name as many uses as you can. How does the beak shape help with the uses you named?"

(To respond to these questions, please follow the instructions below.)

Try This!
If you see grackles, crows, jays, or starlings feeding on a lawn, check out where they fed. You will find little holes where the grass has been pushed back. These are places where the birds poked in their closed bill, gaped, then looked for insects.
Ways to Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day

Sponsors and Coordinators of IMBD.

Saturday, May 12 is International Migratory Bird Day. Millions of birders will be celebrating the birds' spring return. We often take their return for granted, but Jeff Wells, National Bird Conservation Directory of the National Audubon Society, reminds us: "These birds make an annual journey of which we can hardly even conceive. On top of that, humans have added obstacles and destroyed habitat, which increases the number of birds that don't make it home." Here's how you can participate with efforts that make a difference:
1. Go birding! Take time to see and hear these feathered friends that provide lovely songs, scenic beauty, entertaining watching, and insect control--among other benefits to us!
2. Call or write your state and federal lawmakers, who are considering initiatives aimed at habitat management, drilling in the Arctic Refuge, and environmental education. Lawmakers need to hear from you! Let them know you support protection of habitat for migratory birds and wildlife.
3. Use your family's dollars on bird-friendly purchases, like shade-grown coffee.
4. Support birds in your backyard. Keep cats indoors. Landscape with plants that provide food and cover for birds and other wildlife. Set out your oranges and your feeders for orioles, hummingbirds, and others!

Hooray, Mary!
This report has some special cheer in it. Did you ever wonder who makes the oriole Web reports so pretty? It's Mary Hosier, and she had this exciting news as she was readying the Web page images for you: "I was just studying this oriole map, feeling bad that I never get orioles to my fresh grape-food-filled feeder when I looked out at the feeder and there was an oriole on it! MY FIRST EVER ORIOLE! May 2, 2001." Mary also put out 5-inch lengths of raffia for nest building, so now she has an oriole bed and breakfast!

Males First, Females Later: Discussion of Challenge Question #4
Last week David Aborn asked you: "The females arrive later in the spring than the males. Why do you think this happens?"

David explains: "The answer is that males want arrive early to establish a territory. A territory is simply an area an animal claims for its home. Male birds, including orioles, want to find the best territory possible so that when the females arrive they can start attracting them and showing them what a great home they have picked out. You can tell male and female orioles apart. When orioles start arriving in your area, try keeping track of how many males and females you see for several weeks. You should notice the pattern I am talking about."

Switching Diets: Discussion of Challenge Question #5
Last time we asked: "List as many reasons as you can think of why orioles eat mostly fruit in winter and mostly insects in summer."

Insects are far richer in protein than fruit is. Orioles need a lot of protein when producing eggs, and their babies need a lot of protein to grow fast. The tropics, where orioles spend winters, have many more toxic insects than North America, but plenty of fruit. But it early summer, there aren't a lot of fruits available for orioles arriving in North America. These are reasons why switching from winter fruit to summer insects makes good sense for orioles!

Year-End Evaluation: Please Share Your Thoughts!
Please take a few minutes to share your suggestions and comments in our Year-End Evaluation Form below. The information you provide at the end of each year is the single most important tool used to guide our planning.

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How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions:

IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message.

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-oriole@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #6 (or #7 or #8).
3. In the body of your message, give your answer to the question above.

The FINAL Oriole Migration Update Will Be Posted on May 17, 2001.

Copyright 2001 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form

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