The Hooded Orioles Have Returned!

 The Hooded Orioles have returned from Mexico!  Today was the first day I have seen them, as they are flying north for North for the summer.

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

In this second video a young male Hooded Oriole is at teh feeder and you can hear the noon bells from Santa Barbara's Old Mission.

A female Hooded Oriole

Male Hooded Oriole

 This morning I got some video of a male Hooded oriole at the feeder.

Hooded Oriole Nest

 Due to some necessary tree trimming, Mike had to cut down the branch that supported last years Oriole nest.  The female of a Hooded Oriole pair, made this hanging nest (built of grass and plant fibers) in a Ficus branch.  It was protected by being underneath the structure where we park our cars.  Normally Hooded Orioles will build their hanging nest in a palm tree, under a palm frond.  They rarely reuse a nest from the previous year, but will take parts of an old nest to build a new one.  I was surprised to see how clean the inside of the nest was, no poop or feathers!  I'll leave this old nest near a feeder so that parts can be reused for a new nest.

Hooded Oriole Nest

Hooded Oriole Nest

Hooded Oriole Nest

Male Orioles

 So far this spring, I have only seen male Hooded Orioles at the Oriole Feeders.  And of course hummingbirds!

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

The Hooded Orioles Have Arrived!

 Today I saw my first Hooded Oriole for 2021!  

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Video of Male Hooded Oriole

Here is is video of an adult male Hooded Oriole at a feeder.

Screen capture of Hooded Oriole in video

Hooded Oriole

Here are some pictures of a Male Hooded Oriole that I took this morning.  I first noticed it at the oriole feeder and then it flew up to a branch.

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

An adult male and juvenile female Hooded Oriole

An adult male and juvenile female Hooded Oriole

Orioles Feeding Their Chicks

Here is some video of the Orioles and their nest. They are feeding the chicks and doing a little nest maintenance. The male bird has a black bib.

Oriole Nest with Chicks

We noticed a lot of Oriole chatter under the carport.  It turns out they built a nest in a ficus tree and today I got some video of the parents flying to the nest to feed the chicks.  Here is the set up.

The video camera is on a tripod and aimed at the Oriole nest.

Here is the video.

Here are a two juvenile Hooded Orioles and I'll assume siblings. The one starting to get the black bib is a male and the one without a bib is a female. Sometimes they get along and sometimes they don't!

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

A Juvenile Pair of Hooded Orioles!

The BirdCam took some pictures of a pair of juvenile Hooded Orioles at the feeder.

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Here is the BirdCam and feeder setup, seen from the balcony.

BirdCam and Oriole Feeder

The Orioles Are Back!

The Hooded Orioles have returned!  And later than usual.  I typically start hearing or seeing them in April.

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Oriole Video

Here is a short video of two male Hooded Orioles.

I was wondering what the Oriole was 'crowing' about and then I saw the next picture.

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

The males don't like to share, meanwhile it's not a problem with the ladies.

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

The hummingbirds show up once the Hooded Orioles are done.

The Hooded Orioles Have Returned

I've heard them and watched the nectar levels go down in the feeders, but I haven't seen a Hooded Oriole yet this year.  However, the BirdCam got some pictures of them today.

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole