Orioles and palms

[NorCalWill]

For the past several years, a split of Hooded Orioles has returned each spring to nest under the leaves of this Brahea edulis in Sebastopol, CA. 

Living up to their nickname as the “palm-leaf oriole”, it’s pretty incredible to watch them at work building these intricate masterpieces from the fibers of the palm. The process starts in late May, and then by late August, they’re done...gone until next year, abandoning their hard work, which remains suspended for many more months. 

If you look closely at the photo of the tree, right in the center, you can see a nest beneath one of the leaves. 

One more reason to plant a palm tree...

[Kim]

Nice! I have seen them nest in Washingtonias in my neighborhood in San Diego. One oriole chose to weave a nest in an ornamental banana in my yard. It did not end well. Murder by crow.

[DoomsDave]

I'm always finding Oriole nests in my yard, I'd say about 5-10 a year. Little fiber sacks, with fluffy floof inside. So far, I've had them on Roystonea, Livistona, Pritchardtia and Archontophoenix leaves. They like the really tall ones, for obvious reasons. Hardly ever see the birds themselves, though it's not like I'm maintaining a vigil.

Hmm. Based on the description in this article, I suspect that what I thought might be mockingbirds might have been female orioles instead (white wing bars). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooded_oriole

[yachtingone]

Feed them Welches grape jelly and have water for them!!!  They are very noisey! The males have spectacular!

Randy

[Silas_Sancona]

5 minutes ago, yachtingone said:

Feed them Welches grape jelly and have water for them!!!  They are very noisey! The males have spectacular!

Randy

Welche's grape Jelly and/or Orange halves..  Woodpeckers ( at least here ) like 'em as well.

[yachtingone]

They like very sweet fruit only!  Tart oranges they do not like!  They love concord grapes!  They come to my house the end of Feb.. I already have grape jelly feeders out.  A female  common yellow throated warbler and mockingbirds like the jelly too!

[Silas_Sancona]

9 minutes ago, yachtingone said:

They like very sweet fruit only!  Tart oranges they do not like!  They love concord grapes!  They come to my house the end of Feb.. I already have grape jelly feeders out.  A female  common yellow throated warbler and mockingbirds like the jelly too!

Maybe there but people also use Oranges here and they fight over them..  They've also occasionally been seen atop Saguaro and Prickly Pear poking at the fruit mid/late summer. 

https://www.audubon.org/news/make-orange-feeder-orioles

[yachtingone]

Here where I live Oranges can be NOT sweet!

[Tracy]

2 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

Based on the description in this article, I suspect that what I thought might be mockingbirds might have been female orioles instead (white wing bars). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooded_oriole

Yes, males and females are quite different in appearances.

 

13 hours ago, Kim said:

I have seen them nest in Washingtonias in my neighborhood in San Diego. One oriole chose to weave a nest in an ornamental banana in my yard. It did not end well. Murder by crow.

We first saw them nesting in the neighbor's tall Washingtonias, but over the last few years they have appreciated my edible banana plants with quite good success.  The nests are up on the underside and they just use sections of the leaves to "hang" the nests.  They make distinctive chirps, which I hear before I start seeing them.  At least a couple have already passed through perhaps working their way further north.  Nest in banana, female bringing food back to nest, another female doing insecticide work for me, and a male perched near a nest with food for the youngins'.

[Darold Petty]

Any evidence that they would use Pritchardia ?

[Tracy]

31 minutes ago, Darold Petty said:

Any evidence that they would use Pritchardia ?

They really seem to like the undersides of the leaves, so if you had leaves hanging down with some nice folds, my guess they will.  I haven't ever seen any nests on my tall Pritchardia maideniana and most of the rest of my Pritchardia probably aren't big enough or don't hold older leaves hanging down that would be hospitable for them.  Since they have adapted so well to Washingtonia's and bananas in my area, there may not be a need for them to seek out a lot of other alternatives or experiment.

[Fusca]

So, they're not just in Baltimore!

[Darold Petty]

Thanks Tracy.  I removed two too tall Rhopalostylis recently, from the most prominent and choice spot in my tiny garden.  I really would like Pritchardia hillebrantii for this spot but Brahea edulis is a contender, since it is so stone reliable and trouble free.  Not sure how the growth rate would compare, but no longer any significant frost risk.  This is a change from the 1980's when I started my garden.  Several frosts then, but none for the last 15 years.

 Any comments about the relative speed of growth for these two palms would be appreciated, thanks 

[DoomsDave]

1 hour ago, Darold Petty said:

Any evidence that they would use Pritchardia ?

Leaves with the sacs under them.

And, Pritchies are full of fibers, which are good for the floof inside, along with dead kitty cat hair I leave for them.

[DoomsDave]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

They really seem to like the undersides of the leaves, so if you had leaves hanging down with some nice folds, my guess they will.  I haven't ever seen any nests on my tall Pritchardia maideniana and most of the rest of my Pritchardia probably aren't big enough or don't hold older leaves hanging down that would be hospitable for them.  Since they have adapted so well to Washingtonia's and bananas in my area, there may not be a need for them to seek out a lot of other alternatives or experiment.

I think my garden is something of a housing complex for them. I'm finding more and more nests all the time.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

So, they're not just in Baltimore!

3 common sp. for S. Cal / AZ..  2 for N. Cal..  1 infrequent visitor around the state ( Baltimore ),  1 increasingly common rarity, ( Orchard Oriole ) < possibly in the process of scratching out new territory in the West >.. 

Another ( Streak backed ) is thought to be slowly extending it's range north/northwest out of Mexico ( Sonora ) following a similar recent pattern of several other -formally restricted to the Southwest / N.  Mexico- birds.

 

[DoomsDave]

Here’s a nest under a Livistona australis leaf.

 

 

Look really closely and you can see where the birds slit the leaf and wove fibers through the opening to hold the nest up. 

 

Here I’ve folded the leaf back so you can see inside the sack. Hardly any floof left.

 

[Reyes Vargas]

Here is a nest on my sabal mexicana full with baby birds.  This pair of birds had two sets of babies in one year.