Orioles
Named for the first Baron of Baltimore, the male Baltimore oriole wears his colors: black hood, back and wings and bright orange undersides, rump and tail. The male Bullock's oriole (below) is similarly dark above and bright orange below. His head and throat are black, but his cheeks are orange. Female Baltimore orioles basically are brown yellow with two distinct white wing bars. Female Bullock's orioles are gray above, have yellow faces and throats with white bellies.
Orioles will visit a nectar feeder filled with one part sugar dissolved in four parts boiled water.
The Baltimore oriole summers from southern Canada, throughout the eastern United States and much of the central plains. The Bullock's oriole inhabits the rest of the continent, filling the western states and provinces through the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Both species are neo-tropical migrants that abandon North America for the warmer climate of Mexico and Central and South America during the winter.
They prefer similar nest sites in tall shade trees, so suburban parks and backyards can represent ideal oriole habitat. They build large, hanging pendant-shaped nests and suspend them from thin upper tree branches. Orioles are insect eaters and also like fruits and berries. When they first return in the spring, they may be attracted to your feeding station with orange halves on a platform or impaled on a hook.
Orioles II
Where They Live: Orioles brighten the natural scene with their vivid colors and bold songs from one side of the North American continent to the other. During the spring and summer months the Baltimore Oriole can be found in southern Canada, throughout the eastern United States and much of the central plains. The range of the Bullock's oriole includes the rest of the continent, filling the western states and provinces through the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Where the two ranges meet, the species co-mingle and hybridize. So close are these two relatives that the American Ornithological Union has considered them first separate species, then later a single specie, and most recently, two species again. Both Baltimore and Bullock's orioles prefer similar nest sites. Towering shade trees in open country suit them both. Suburban shade trees found in parks, along roadsides and in backyard gardens represent ideal oriole habitat. Couple this preference with the fact that orioles seem well adapted to having human neighbors, and you have a great chance of enjoying these lovely birds. But enjoying the brilliant oriole orange is a fair weather pleasure only. Baltimore and Bullock's orioles are neo-tropical migrants. They abandon North America for the warmer climate of Mexico and Central and South America during the winter. However, winter is an ideal time to discover their nests, usually located in the upper reaches of tall trees. During summer, leaves often obscure views of the beautiful nests they create. Large, hanging pendant-shaped nests are woven outward from their rim and suspended from thin upper tree branches. This may be an adaptation that protects them from mammalian predators that cannot crawl out onto these fine twigs. The nests are made of plant fibers that the birds carefully strip from plants, such as the outer bark of milkweed stalks.
What They Eat: Orioles love caterpillars...with a side order or ants, weevils or beetles. They also relish fruits and berries. Orioles, like hummingbirds, also sip flower nectar. While they are not seedeaters and therefore do not visit traditional feeders, orioles can be lured to yards. When first arriving in the spring, orioles will visit suet baskets and peanut butter feeders. They also can be encouraged into view by putting out orange halves. Try placing these on a platform feeder, or poking them onto a branch stub or nail. It is fun to see how completely the orioles will remove the fruit pulp. Orioles also will use hummingbird feeders. The spacing of perches and nectar openings is obviously not right for a seven-or eight-inch bird. Watching their resourcefulness can be a comedy show. But consider buying one of the sugar water feeders designed for orioles. Fill it with four parts water, one part sugar, just as you do for hummers.
Appearance: When it comes to visual recognition of orioles, expect to be dazzled. Male Baltimore orioles wear the colors of the first Baron of Baltimore, a colonizer of Maryland: black hood, back and wings and bright orange undersides, rump and tail. The male's wings have a single, narrow white wing bar. The male Bullock's oriole is similarly dark above and bright orange below. While the head and throat are black, the cheeks are orange. The white band on the male Bullock's wing is broad and pronounced. Female Baltimore orioles are brown above and yellow below with two distinct white wing bars. Female Bullock's orioles are gray above, have yellow faces and throats with white bellies.
Voice: Baltimore and Bullock's orioles are lovely songsters with a rich and clear whistled song. Different individuals can be recognized by their own versions of short whistles. The birds are quite vocal and a treat to hear. While orioles tolerate our presence, get too close to their feeding station in your yard and expect to be scolded. Orioles have an alarm chatter that they are unafraid to use on you when the message needs to be sent: "Back away from that feeder. I'm hungry."
Eastern Screech Owl
Where They Live: The Eastern screech-owl is the most widely distributed of three species of North American screech-owls and the smallest "eared" eastern owl. It occurs from the east coast westward to the edge of the Great Plains. Western screech-owls occur west of the Rockies; whiskered screech-owls are limited to oak woodlands near the Arizona-Mexico border. Screech-owls do not migrate. Eastern screech-owls occupy a variety of habitat, including deciduous and mixed forests, forest edges, orchards, swamps, parks and even older wooded suburban neighborhoods. A key habitat component is a supply of large hollow trees, which screech-owls use for nesting, roosting and dining. They also readily use nest boxes (8 inches square, 18 inches high, 3-inch hole).
What They Eat: The screech-owl diet includes beetles, moths, other large insects, earthworms, crayfish, small mammals, birds as large as mourning doves, frogs, lizards, small snakes and even small fish. Screech-owls emerge from their roost cavities at dusk each evening to hunt. When food is scarce, they may hunt all night long before retiring at dawn. They hunt from a perch and swoop down on prey on the ground or in lower vegetation. Screech-owls usually eat their prey inside a tree cavity so they themselves don't fall victim to a larger owl while eating.
Appearance: Because screech-owls are nocturnal and shy, they are seldom seen unless you're lucky enough to have a pair in your backyard. Two color phases or morphs occur throughout their range -- red and gray. They measure 8 to 9 inches long, have yellow irises, and prominent "ear tufts." White under parts are marked with prominent vertical streaks and finer horizontal bars. The tip of the dark bill is much paler.
Voice: Despite the name, Eastern screech-owls do not screech, but they are easily detected and recognized by sound. Two calls are commonly heard throughout the year, though I hear them most often after dark in February and March. The call I hear most often is a monotone trill that lasts several seconds. The whinny has a quavering quality and descends in pitch. Imitations of either call may attract smaller songbirds eager to find the calling predator.
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Where They Live: Saw-whet owls inhabit dense swamps within coniferous or mixed woods from southern Canada south into Mexico. Tamarack bogs, alder thickets and cedar groves are favored habitats. Though most range maps indicate that saw-whets do not occur in the southeast or south central plains, recent banding efforts suggest that their distribution may be wider than thought, especially during migration. Some migrate to Mexico; others remain in southern states. Perhaps because they live in such dense and inaccessible habitats, saw-whets usually are amazingly tame. Often they roost on a conifer branch close to the ground, where they can be approached and even photographed.
What They Eat: Deer mice, voles, shrews, frogs and insects make up most of the saw-whet diet. They eat small birds occasionally but not as frequently as screech-owls. When prey is abundant, saw-whets often eat only the heads of their prey, and sometimes only the brain. If a saw-whet happens upon several mice at once, it will snatch and kill one victim with one foot and grab a second with the other. Saw-whets are voracious predators and often eat twice their own weight in the course of a night.
Appearance: Saw-whets are the smallest eastern owl, measuring only 7 to 8 inches long. Large yellow eyes dominate the rounded head, which contrasts sharply with the "eared" appearance of screech-owls. The bill is dark, and the body brown above and streaky below. Juvenile saw-whets are strikingly marked: buff bellied, dark above, with a white triangle above the bill.
Voice: The call most frequently associated with saw-whet owls is a rapid (2 to 3 per second) series of high-pitched "toots" that is easily imitated by whistling. The sound, for which the saw-whet is named, the sharpening of a saw on a whetstone, seldom is heard.