Our Feathered Friends

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Tweet By Ray Pope Well, it’s another hot one and my air conditioner is on the fritz with a burned out compressor. It looks like I can't catch a break in this sweltering heat, but thanks to Bradley Heating and Air, things should be cooling down around the first of the week. Last Sunday I received a telephone call from Myron Smith, who lives out close to Hwy.109, about having Tree Swallows in his Martin house and an Orchard Oriole nesting almost head high in an old hackberry tree just behind the house. Other birds were singing all over the property which made it sound like a small bird sanctuary. Thanks again to Wanda Walker for the transportation there and back. The Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) is the smallest North American species of icterid blackbird. Its size is just over 6 inches in length with a black head, wing and tail. The adult male has a burnt-orange color on the underparts, shoulder, and rump. Females of the species are a dull greenish-yellow color with darker wings and tail. Juveniles are very similar to the females with the young male wearing a black mask and black throat patch. By Ray Pope Well, it’s another hot one and my air conditioner is on the fritz with a burned out compressor. It looks like I can't catch a break in this sweltering heat, but thanks to Bradley Heating and Air, things should be cooling down around the first of the week. Last Sunday I received a telephone call from Myron Smith, who lives out close to Hwy.109, about having Tree Swallows in his Martin house and an Orchard Oriole nesting almost head high in an old hackberry tree just behind the house. Other birds were singing all over the property which made it sound like a small bird sanctuary. Thanks again to Wanda Walker for the transportation there and back. The Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) is the smallest North American species of icterid blackbird. Its size is just over 6 inches in length with a black head, wing and tail. The adult male has a burnt-orange color on the underparts, shoulder, and rump. Females of the species are a dull greenish-yellow color with darker wings and tail. Juveniles are very similar to the females with the young male wearing a black mask and black throat patch. Their breeding territory is semi open areas with deciduous trees reaching north to just below the Canadian border and west to about the 100th meridian, south to the Gulf states and into Mexico. Remember what I have said about the 100th meridian, as that is what separates eastern bird species from the western birds. Female Orioles do a little courting of their own by bowing their head and torso toward the male. After mating both male and female weave their low hanging nest of grass and other plant fibers. This seems to me like a miracle of nature as the birds can only use their beaks to weave and attach the nest to support limbs.  The Orchard's nest hangs a few inches below a limb while the Northern (Baltimore) Oriole extends several inches below. I took pictures of the nest at Myron's which will run with this week’s article and hope you can see the pattern of the weaving. The female lays from four to five bluish eggs scrawled with brown and lavender which hatch in about twelve to fourteen days. After eleven to fourteen days the young leave the nest to join their parents foraging for food. You can attract Orioles to your yard by placing out oranges cut in half close to their nesting spot. There are special nectar feeders on the market made just for Orioles which you can purchase at Wild Birds Unlimited at 2813 Bransford Avenue in Nashville, which is across from the entrance to 100 Oaks Mall. When I took my first steps on my journey to being a bird watcher, my first trip was with John and Francis Sellars and their children Betsy and John Jr. We stayed at the Pickwick Landing State Park Inn down on the Tennessee River close to Mississippi. Being the rookie, John Jr. and I were out to discover some wild rare species of bird before the many experts there could find it. Our rooms were on the top floor of the Inn overlooking the many tall Tulip Poplars that grew on the premises. After keeping a close watch on the tree tops we spotted what we thought was the rare Lawrence's Warbler, which is a hybrid mix of the Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers. We were excited beyond measure and couldn't wait to tell someone of our discovery. The first person we saw was Lulu Coffee, who was an expert on birds. She asked several questions which made our discovery a little less exciting. One thing I learned that day was to watch the way the bird is sitting, upright, or horizontally. Warblers sit horizontally while our bird was in an upright position. To make a long story short our bird was an immature Orchard Oriole. Little tricks like the one I learned from Lulu have sustained me for many years. I received a call from Sharon Buchanan wanting to know where they might find Bald Eagles. This coming winter will be a better time to find our national bird which winters here from the harsh frozen waters of the north. I suggested a trip to Reelfoot Lake in west Tennessee where you can find an abundance of them from November through late February. Maybe we should plan a trip there this winter for some of my readers to join me in a day trip there. Margaret Partee, author of Post Scripts had a very nice article in last Wednesday’s Wilson Post on bird bottles. I just might have to get me one for the Wrens here at my home.   I would love to hear from you as to what’s lurking about in your neighborhood and at your feeders. You can call me at 547-7371 or write me at 606 Fairview Ave., Lebanon, TN, 37087, or e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it