Baltimore Orioles Have Arrived

Date: 04/21/2025 First Ontario Sighting - New Hamburg, ON
Baltimore Oriole
Male feeding at oriole feeder on an orange. earliest arrival ever

Baltimore Orioles are striking in colour, the orange accentuated by the black just grabs your attention. These beautiful birds can be found nesting throughout the GTA and by providing them with their unique food choices of oranges, Jelly Jubilee or BirdBerry Jelly, nectar and mealworms your can enjoy their colourful show all summer..

Baltimore Orioles - How To Encourage Visits to Your Yard

The first sighting reported to our store in 2022 was on April 18 in a backyard in the area of Hwy 403 & Cawthra. The Baltimore Oriole was in the yard with a Slate-coloured Junco. How cool is that! Our summer birds meeting up with our winter birds! On May 02 oriole sightings jumped: Bloor & Prince Edward, Bampton, and Cawthra and Queensway area; then May 04 the High Park area. Sightings then continued in May and through the end of August from all over the GTA. High eBird sightings confirm Baltimore Oriole are in the GTA, spring through summer. Some of our customers saw the orioles only in May, sometimes on numerous days but by June no sightings. Other customers saw the orioles starting in May and then all through August, continuous visits to the backyard! Why were some customers much more successful? They followed our Wild Birds Unlimited Toronto recipe for success with Baltimore Orioles. Let us share the recipe.

The Baltimore Oriole Recipe for Success

Step 1 - Baltimore Orioles have been sighted in the Ontario/GTA

  • Start putting out oranges cut in half or very ripe bananas
  • Stake them on a tree branch, feeder etc
  • You can tell the oriole is eating the orange or banana when you see poke marks on the fruit, which are known as “gaping”
  • Keep an eye on the fruit for any signs of mould, if mould is found place in the green bin immediately. Change oranges or bananas every four to seven days in the spring should be safe
  • The feeder must be visible
  • Orioles locate food sources by sight – hanging from a tree or pole
  • A separate pole is ideal but can be on a mixed feeder pole
  • Place the feeder near native plants

Keep the feeder out of the danger zone
• All bird feeders should be within three feet of windows or 10 feet away
• If outdoor cats are an issue, place the feeder up high

Try to avoid windy areas
• Heavy winds can cause nectar to be spilled (based on feeder type)
• Spilled nectar can attract wasps and ants

Step 2 - The fruit is being eaten by the orioles

  • Maintain the availability of fresh fruit and by the second week of May, introduce nectar
  • Nectar - 1 part white table sugar to 4 parts water - See Nectar Info
  • Feeding nectar does require proper care and cleaning of the feeders. The nectar we make for orioles is the same nectar recipe used for hummingbirds and the feeders require the same cleaning process.

Step 3 - Jelly Jubilee or BirdBerry Jelly

  • Good activity with nectar - wait to the end of May; slow activity with nectar add the jelly quickly

Step 4 - Live Mealworms/Caterpillars

  • To ensure visits through June into August
  • You must add one more food option - live mealworms or (caterpillars)
  • Add at the beginning of June but can be started earlier
  • A must for success when the orioles have nestlings
  • Protein for migration

Step 5 - plant the native plants for Baltimore Orioles - download a copy - Native Plants for Baltimore Orioles