Each spring, the arrival of orioles and hummingbirds is celebrated by many of our customers, as well as our store staff. Providing many feeding options for orioles and hummingbirds will attract more of these birds to your yard.

Orioles

I am sure many of you, like me, wait patiently in late April or early May for the laughing chatter of the bright-colored male Baltimore Oriole. This vibrant, flame-orange bird arrives a couple of days ahead of his brownish-yellow partner. The birds have traveled from the Caribbean, Central America and the northern tip of South America. Often, they return year after year to nest in the same yard and even the same tree, building a new nest each year.

When to Expect Them

To attract orioles, you need to be sure to get your feeders up by mid-April. Some experts even say late March to not miss the early arrivals. The web site journeynorth.org tracks sightings, so you can see the movement of orioles and hummingbirds as they head north.

Attracting Orioles

One way to attract orioles to your yard is to have one feeding station in a quiet, secluded corner of the yard. Planting orange flowers or having orange color near the station can help as well. Once the orioles start coming, you can draw them to feeders right under the eaves of your house.

Most recently, my favorite feeder has become the Oriolefest Nectar Feeder. After relying on grape jelly for many seasons, I filled my Oriolefest with our Gold Crest Distributing Orange Concentrate Nectar, which is mixed three-to-one. Often, I was surprised to see more orioles come to the Oriolefest feeder than my grape jelly dishes. Last spring, I had an Orchard Oriole visit the nectar regularly for a couple of weeks before moving farther north!

Providing fresh, clean water is another easy way to attract orioles. These birds are drawn to splashing, sparkling water, so a clean basin with some movement from a fountain, dripper, or bubbler will catch their attention the most.

Oriole visits do slow during nesting, since these birds primarily eat insects, and insects become more numerous in late spring and summer. They know their young need the protein the insects provide. Once the young birds can fly, it’s fun to have adults feed their young from our jelly or nectar feeders. Orioles do actively return to the jelly and nectar feeders in late summer before their long trip south.

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds usually arrive a little ahead of the orioles in the spring. The most common Minnesota hummingbird is the Ruby-throated. Other species may migrate to Minnesota, but sightings are very rare.

Attracting Hummingbirds

All Seasons Wild Bird Store has a large variety of hummingbird feeders. The mix for hummingbird nectar is: one cup sugar to four cups of water. Our store also sells pre-mixed nectar. Having blooming flowers in your yard will greatly increase hummingbird activity as well.

Territorial Behaviors

Our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are very territorial. Several years ago I visited my sister in the mountains at Crested Butte, Colorado. I was surprised to see Rufous Hummingbirds sharing time at the feeder. There must have been a dozen or more hummers taking turns at the nectar. But for us in Minnesota, there is very little sharing. I like to place feeders on all sides of my house to let more hummingbirds feed without being chased away by the dominant bird.

Adapted from the March/April 2024 Bird’s-Eye View Newsletter. Written by Minnetonka–Ridge Square Sales Associate MIKE PATERSON