Baltimore Orioles are another type of migratory bird on the way north for the breeding season. They will depart again for their winter territories as early as July, so keep an eye on the treetops for bright orange feathers in the next couple of months!

I don’t know about you, but when I think of birds’ nests, I usually think of a sort of bowl made of twigs. Yet not all nests are shaped that way.

Orioles weave distinctive nests, which hang from tree branches like little purses. If you see a little sack made of plant fibers hanging from a branch high in a treetop, you can be pretty sure you are looking at the nest of an oriole.

A female oriole knits a new nest every year, so if you spotted one of these special nests when the trees had no leaves over the winter, you won’t be able to simply return to that nest to see a Baltimore Oriole’s current nesting sight. These birds do, however, sometimes use old nests to collect material to build their new ones, so you might want to check anyway – maybe you’ll get lucky and spot one of these orange and black birds gathering supplies for the new breeding season.

I found a couple of terrific links explaining oriole nest construction. One is a video from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism which shows how a Baltimore Oriole builds its nest. The other is a podcast from BirdNote on the same topic. Both are about two minutes long. If you have time to spare, you should definitely check the links out!

Last week I mentioned my summer 2019 goal of finding a hummingbird nest. I am adding finding a Baltimore Oriole’s nest to my list. I’ll be sure to let you know if I find either one!

How about you?  Do you have any summer birding goals?

XOXO,
Bernice