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LETTERS

 

Feeding Orioles

Virginia from Apopka Florida Writes:

-----Original Message-----
From: Virginia
To: Central Florida Bird Watchers
Subject: Feeding Orioles

Are Orioles ever sited in the Central Florida
area, namely Apopka, Florida (about 12 miles
northwest of Orlando)? My sister lives in
northern Ohio and has lovely Orioles in the
summer. She sent me an Oriole feeder for
Christmas and so far no Orioles have appeared. If
we do not site these lovely birds in this area, I
will send the feeder back to her so she can feed
her Orioles this summer.

Thanks for your information.

Our Reply:

Virginia,

Yes, the Baltimore Oriole winters here in Central Florida and the
Orchard Oriole uses Florida as it migration path south in fall and
north in spring.

The orchard Oriole is very small, with a short bill and is often
confused for a warbler.

Here are some feeding suggestions:
I assume the feeder that your sister sent, uses the orange flavored sugar water. If so, it is very important to clean the feeder with warm water every 3 to 5 days and refill the feeder with fresh feeding

Solution:

Be consistent and be patient. It may take them a while to find their new, reliable, food source.

You can sometimes attract them to your site by offering a fresh orange sliced in half and placed on a shallow plate on the railing of a deck or similar area. (These are the same suggestions for Oriole feeding in the summer after our wintering Orioles have returned to their summer playgrounds.)

P.S. The Mockingbirds will like the orange too.

Good luck

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