i'm in west central illinois and we have TONS of orioles, both baltimore and orchard orioles. i have lived in the boonies for 12 years now. we used to see them flitting around in the trees and it took about 3 years before we could coax them into the yard. i have 3 grape jelly feeders out now and it's nothing to see 6 or 7 males AND females of both varieties, at any one time.

i hung a jelly feeder inches from my living room picture window. when it's empty, an oriole will sit on it and squawk at me. they are some of my favorite birds, SOOOO colorful!!!

if you have one coming to your bird bath, it probably wouldn't take him long to find some jelly. warning though...once he does, he'll get very demanding. *wink*

Ok- what is a grape jelly feeder? I've seen these birds on rare occasion around my house. They are so lovely. I'd love to attract more.

Thanks for the tip on jelly for orioles. I'll give it a try.

In addition to grape jelly, they also like orange slices. Slice and orange in half and use a nail to stick it to a nearby tree or deck railing.

I'm in central Missouri, about 100 miles west of St. Louis. We started seeing northern and later orchard orioles in our woods several years ago and now they come to a special nectar feeder that has larger holes to fit their beaks. Our feeder is just outside the living room window so we can watch them up close. When we found one of their long purse nests that had fallen from a tree, we knew they were "home" for good. Our place has excellent habitat for birds so I feel the company that comes to the feeders is our reward for providing water and places to feed naturally, to roost and nest.

I have a ton of orioles right now that frequent my household from the wee hours of the morning until dusk. They are obsessed w/ my mullberry tree.

I have been tracking them for the Audobon Society. They have reason to believe the oriole population is declining somewhat in Massachusetts so I am happy to help in the reporting for them.

I also heard that they love oranges. Enjoy your orioles!

Thanks again for all the comments. Unfortunately, we haven't seen the orioles for a while. I tried putting out jelly in a metal dish -- didn't seem to attract any.

I've been planting native shrubs for the last few years and this year should have elderberries, currants, and grey dogwood berries for the first time. Maybe when they are ripe we'll see the orioles again.

Ive tried in vain for years to get Baltimore orioles to come to feeders. I've tried various specialty sugar water feeders, put out sliced oranges and grape jelly to no avail. The only thing that touches oranges here are chipmunks and squirrels, just chewing a little.

I see plenty of orioles in May when they return, and sporadically the rest of the year. They are going for the mulberries in my yard now.

My brother has orioles that come to his hummingbird feeder - he takes the popular perky pet feeder, and removes the bee guards. These are my favorite sugar water feeders. (I put up a couple without realizing the perches are in the bottom of the box, be sure to install those.)

Orioles might go for mealworms - those seem to be like filet mignon for birds.

Here is a link that might be useful: perky pet feeder