Orioles are drawn to feeders by sweet food: Bullock's Orioles don't eat from seed feeders but look for sugary foods during spring migration, and Baltimore Orioles are fond of fruit and nectar as well as insects (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds). Their diet shifts with the season: in spring and fall, nectar and ripe fruit make up more of it, because sugar is quickly turned into fat for migration, while in summer, when they are raising young, they eat mostly insects (All About Birds). Feeders work best when they follow that cycle. This guide covers the two orioles most US feeder owners see: the Baltimore Oriole of eastern North America (All About Birds) and the Bullock's Oriole, common in summer in the West (Audubon). The two often interbreed where their ranges meet on the western Great Plains (Audubon). Seed foods for other birds are in what to feed backyard birds.
Photo: John Kees / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What orioles take at feeders
| Food | How to offer it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar water | A sugar-water oriole feeder from a bird supply store; orioles use hummingbird feeders only if they have perches (All About Birds, Bullock's Oriole) | 1 part sugar to 6 parts water (Project FeederWatch); see the recipe below |
| Orange halves | Hang them from trees (All About Birds); set them on a platform or skewer them on the feeder pole (Cornell); push them onto nails in logs, stumps or feeder roofs (Minnesota DNR) | In spring, an orange half near the feeder helps orioles notice it (Minnesota DNR) |
| Grape jelly | A spoonful on a platform (Cornell); small amounts only (All About Birds) | Sources disagree on how much is safe; see the jelly section |
| Other fruit | Cherries or grapes; orioles seem to prefer dark fruit and ignore yellow cherries and green grapes (Cornell) | Maryland DNR lists apples, grapefruits and bananas for passing orioles |
| Mealworms | A shallow dish (Journey North) | Switch from sweets to mealworms once the birds start nesting (All About Birds, Bullock's Oriole) |
| Plants | Raspberries, crab apples, trumpet vines (All About Birds) | Can bring Baltimore Orioles back year after year; see native plants for birds |
Mixing 1:6 oriole nectar
- Measure 1 part white sugar to 6 parts water. Project FeederWatch says this "slightly more diluted mixture" can be used for orioles; its hummingbird mix is 1 part sugar to 4 parts boiling water.
- Dissolve the sugar in hot water. FeederWatch stirs sugar into boiling water; Minnesota DNR boils the solution.
- Let it cool before filling the feeder (FeederWatch; Minnesota DNR).
- Skip red dye. FeederWatch says it harms birds, and red feeder ports or even a red ribbon attract birds just as well.
- Refrigerate what you don't use (Minnesota DNR; Audubon).
| Water | Sugar at 1:6 |
|---|---|
| 1½ cups | ¼ cup |
| 3 cups | ½ cup |
| 6 cups | 1 cup |
The nectar calculator works out any other amount, at 1:6 or the hummingbird 1:4.
Where sources differ: FeederWatch gives orioles their own weaker mix, but Audubon's guide to attracting hummingbirds and orioles gives a single recipe, 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water, and Minnesota DNR's summer page also gives one recipe (four parts water to one part cane sugar) with no separate oriole mix. Audubon adds: don't use honey, which can grow mold.
Grape jelly: how much, and the cautions
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Cornell (summer foods) | Orioles "LOVE grape jelly"; put a spoonful on the platform feeder |
| All About Birds, Baltimore Oriole | Small amounts only, not so much that it risks soiling their feathers |
| All About Birds, Bullock's Oriole; Journey North | Blend jelly and water half-and-half into a syrup; All About Birds serves it in a small, shallow container |
| Minnesota DNR | Shallow trays about 3 to 4 inches across and about 1 inch deep; generic jelly works |
| Maryland DNR | Jelly often draws ants; replace it every two days |
| Laura Erickson, BirdWatching (2018) | Large amounts in cereal-bowl-sized containers can trap birds; limit each bird to a few visits a day; jelly made with artificial sweeteners offers no nutrition and is dangerous |
| Laura Erickson, 101 Ways to Help Birds (2023 update) | Never more than a spoonful or two; jelly is not appropriate for fledglings, which need far more protein than carbohydrates; wildlife rehabilitators are taking in hummingbirds covered in grape jelly; she now advises against all jelly feeding except in extremely cold spring migrations |
Where sources differ: Cornell's pages treat jelly as a normal oriole food in small amounts; Laura Erickson, writing in BirdWatching and in her book 101 Ways to Help Birds, argues for limiting it to cold spells or dropping it. Every source that gives an amount keeps it small: a spoonful, or a shallow tray an inch deep. Erickson also advises providing clean drinking water in a birdbath, and taking the jelly in once adults start bringing their young to it (in BirdWatching: more than once or twice a day).
When to put oriole feeders out
Put food out before the first migrants reach your area: if it's not there when orioles first check a yard, they'll keep going (All About Birds, Bullock's Oriole). Baltimore Orioles return to their breeding grounds in April and May (Audubon), and females arrive later than males (Journey North). Most Baltimore Orioles winter from southern Mexico to northwestern South America or in the Caribbean; some stay along the Gulf Coast and in the Southeast (Audubon).
Journey North collects first-of-year sightings of both species. The 2024 reports below show how arrival moves north; they are one year's reports, not averages.
| Place (spring 2024) | Listed under | Report date |
|---|---|---|
| Emmett, Idaho | Western (Bullock's) reports | April 25 |
| Mears, Michigan | Baltimore | April 28 |
| Madison, Wisconsin area (nine reports) | Baltimore | April 29 – May 1 |
| Garden City, Kansas | Bullock's photographed at a feeder; a Baltimore seen the same day | April 30 |
| Parker, Colorado; Fallon, Nevada | Western (Bullock's) reports | May 1 |
| Albion, Maine | Baltimore | May 3 |
| Bonnyville, Alberta | Baltimore (Journey North's most northern Baltimore report in 10 years) | May 8 |
Your own area's timing is on the eBird bar chart for your county; see eBird for beginners.
Through the season
| Period | What orioles eat | What to offer |
|---|---|---|
| Spring migration (April–May) | More nectar and ripe fruit, turned into fat for the trip (All About Birds) | Oranges, 1:6 nectar, a little jelly |
| Nesting (Maryland: early June to mid-July, Maryland DNR) | Mostly insects, rich in protein for growing young (All About Birds) | Mealworms instead of sweets (All About Birds, Bullock's Oriole) |
| Fall departure | More fruit and nectar again (All About Birds) | Fruit and nectar until they leave: many Baltimore Orioles depart in July and August, and many Bullock's leave northern breeding areas by the end of July (Audubon) |
Keeping oriole food fresh
| Food | How often | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Orange halves | Replace daily so they don't dry out or grow mold; every two days | All About Birds (Bullock's Oriole); Maryland DNR |
| Oranges in warm weather | Check often; they can ferment | Missouri Department of Conservation |
| Jelly | Replace every two days | Maryland DNR |
| Sugar water | Change it regularly so a black fungus doesn't form | Minnesota DNR |
| Jelly-and-water mix in a feeder | Rinse the feeder with hot water every few days and refill; especially important in warm weather, when it spoils quickly | Journey North |
| Hummingbird nectar feeders in hot, humid weeks | Wash and refill every 2–3 days | Missouri Department of Conservation |
To keep ants off oranges, set the halves in a shallow dish of water (All About Birds, Bullock's Oriole). Full feeder-cleaning steps are in how to clean a bird feeder. Orioles also use water: Audubon says they prefer it shallow, no more than two inches deep; see the bird bath guide.
- Sugar-water feeder with perches, filled with 1 part sugar to 6 parts water (Project FeederWatch); orioles use hummingbird feeders only if they have perches (All About Birds).
- Orange half on a spike or nail on the feeder pole (Cornell; Audubon; Minnesota DNR).
- Orange half in a shallow dish of water, which helps keep ants away; replace the fruit daily (All About Birds).
- Grape jelly in a shallow tray about 3 to 4 inches across and about 1 inch deep (Minnesota DNR), a spoonful at a time (Cornell).
- Dark fruit such as grapes or cherries; orioles ignore green grapes and yellow cherries (Cornell).
- Mealworms once the orioles start nesting (All About Birds).
- Shallow water, no more than 2 inches deep (Audubon).
- Hanging pouch nest near the end of a slender, drooping branch of a tall deciduous tree (Audubon).
Oriole feeder checklist
- Feeders out before the first migrants arrive (All About Birds)
- Sugar water at 1:6, cooled, no red dye, leftovers refrigerated (Project FeederWatch; Minnesota DNR)
- Orange halves on a spike, nail or platform, replaced every day or two (All About Birds; Maryland DNR)
- Jelly kept to a spoonful in a shallow tray, or skipped (Cornell; Minnesota DNR; Erickson)
- A shallow dish of water under fruit to stop ants (All About Birds)
- Mealworms instead of sweets once nesting starts (All About Birds)
- First oriole of the year reported to Journey North or eBird
An oriole at the orange counts toward a Bird-a-Day streak like any other bird. For the rest of the warm-season menu, see summer bird feeding.
Sources
- Baltimore Oriole: overview and life history — All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology (life history)
- Bullock's Oriole — All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Here's What to Feed Your Summer Bird Feeder Visitors — All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology (2014, updated 2020)
- Sugar Water — Project FeederWatch (Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada)
- The Audubon Guide to Attracting Hummingbirds and Orioles — National Audubon Society
- Baltimore Oriole and Bullock's Oriole — Audubon Field Guide
- 10 Fun Facts About the Baltimore Oriole — Kevin Wheeler, Audubon (2020)
- Summer bird feeding tips — Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
- Native Animal Profile: Baltimore Oriole — Maryland Department of Natural Resources (2019)
- Bird Feeding — Missouri Department of Conservation
- Journey North: Orioles return (May 3, 2024), Orioles reaching northern edge of range (May 16, 2024), Oriole Migration Update (April 19, 2001), Unpave the Way for Orioles and Report your first oriole sighting
- Laura Erickson on the pros and cons of feeding birds jelly — BirdWatching (2018)
- 49. Offer fruits and jellies — Laura Erickson, from 101 Ways to Help Birds (2006; updated 2023)