Male Orchard Oriole -------
This is the most exiting time of the year in our woods here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River Valley. One bird species after another who breed here during the summer arrived within the last 96 hours. The day starts early with the chatter of the House Wrens. The Hummingbirds take possession of the feeders hanging from the porch and defend them against their fellow hummers. Several male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks visit our sunflower seed feeders and at least five Baltimore Orioles recover from the long journey of spring migration. One of the highlights this morning were three Indigo Buntings who joined the numerous American Goldfinches that hang out in the trees and come to the house for sunflower seeds. The king in my books was that male Orchard Oriole I show you today. The red color tells that it is an adult bird but I wonder if that is the same male who was here last spring, at that time still wearing the plumage of a juvenile bird. While the Baltimore Orioles come here every spring since we moved in our house in 2004, the Orchard Orioles are not so common and have been seen only a few times during migration.