Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Jelly Bellies


This year on our country property, we are fortunate to have two pair of beautiful Baltimore Orioles visiting our feeders and bird baths. One oriole couple has built a nest across the street in a majestic sycamore tree. We believe the other two have a nest in a towering maple tree close to where our new house is being built. It's been a pleasure watching these loquacious birds flying about our acreage and stopping over for a bite to eat, sips of water and perhaps a refreshing bath.


A brilliant male Baltimore Oriole sits atop the pole where the oriole feeder hangs


Relishing the grape jelly


Slurping the sweet, purple treat


A pretty female oriole with a jelly coated beak


Delighting in Smucker's grape jelly


A handsome male savors the fruity confection


The jelly tastes terrific from either side of the feeder


Sticky goodness so pleasing to the palate


Delectable!


A sweet, juicy navel orange appeals to this female


Orioles are not the only birds who fancy this gooey treat ~ Four or five Gray Catbird have been visiting the feeder as well


A tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird (right side of the feeder) wonders what all the fuss is about 


59 comments:

Kerri Farley said...

Oh Julie - these captures are magnificent! What a great look at those Orioles!!

PoetessWug said...

WOW! You learn something new every day! :-)) I didn't know that birds liked grape jelly!!...Although I've been known to slurp on some Smuckers grape goodness myself from time to time. So why not the birdies!! LOL...Great shots!!

Anonymous said...

Magnificent photos, we have these beautiful birds here too. They certainly brighten up the yard.

Bas. said...

een hele mooie serie ,als ze nu maar niet dronken worden.

TexWisGirl said...

what a delight! LOVED your title! couldn't imagine what it was going to be... :)

Weekend Cowgirl said...

I love the grape jelly as treat and never have done that. I do use oranges and our birds love that... what beautiful photos...

Mia McPherson said...

Julie, I've never seen this behavior so seeing your images was fascinating to me!

Maria said...

This is so interesting to watch, didn't see this before like this!

eileeninmd said...

I love the orioles, great shots! The raccoon just ate all my jelly!

Annula Fotografie said...

Julie, What a beautiful images of birds that I have never seen!
thank you!!
Grt,
Annie
http://anniezon.blogspot.nl/

FAB said...

What gloriously delicious images Julie and I guess that includes the jelly ... licking my lips!

Larry Ostby said...

Beautiful. I must say it appears the jelly is quite a hit. As always Julie, the photos are superb. Thanks.

Tammy said...

What a delightful post, as always! The beautiful orioles look like they really enjoyed their sweet treat! How fun to watch:)

Liz said...

Simply beautiful!

Jim Braswell said...

Lovely, Julie! We have seen some at our home, but they don't seem to stick around, unfortunately. But I did see a male at the nearby prairie this morning :o) Great photos, as always, Julie!

Ruth Hiebert said...

It seems to be a good year for the Orioles. I sure have many more than usual and am enjoying them. The Grape Jelly is a great treat for them. You have captured their beauty so well.

Isidro Ortiz said...

Bonitas fotos.Un abrazo

JRandSue said...

Stunning birds,superb captures.
John.

Guy said...

Hi Julie

These are really stunning photos of some very beautiful birds.

Regards
Guy

Joke van de Klift said...

Schitterende serie van dit prachtige vogeltje!

Groetjes, Joke

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Julie,
You sure did catch all of us with your 'Jelly Bellies' title!
What a gorgeous photos and that for the price of one juicy navel orange and some Smucker's grape jelly!
One wonders what that hummingbird is thinking...
Thanks for sharing these colorful orioles + catbird.
Hugs,
Mariette

Tinie said...

Wow what a beautiful pictures, my compliments Julie.
Groetjes Tinie

MoiCLouLou said...

Beautiful orioles! I did not know they loved grape jelly and oranges!
The Grey Catbird is beautiful too. A nice series and a very nice presentation.
Thanks for sharing Julie!
Have a nice day,
Louise

Edith DUTERTRE said...

hello
cet oiseau est splendide
nous n'avons pas des oiseaux aussi
chatoyant en France
un oiseau bien gourmand ♥♥♥
à bientôt
tendresse
edith (iris)

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Baltimore Orioles are found near us, but not quite here. Thy are beautiful and I knew about oranges, but not the jelly. Do you have to cover it, or bring it in during evening, to keep coons and bugs at bay?

Marco Luijken said...

Hello Julie,
What a great shots!! It's so amazing to see these special birds. And it's so funny to see them drinking and eating on their feeding place.

Many greetings,
Marco

Helma said...

What a beautiful bird say!! In the Netherlands these beautiful birds fly only in tropical gardens or the zoo. Beautiful color.

Greetings, Helma

Unknown said...

Fun photo story! :D

Debbie said...

what an awesome title for this wonderful entry!!

your images are beautiful, and you sure do put out a nice spread!!

Bob Bushell said...

Real use of the orange, beautiful images.

Bets said...

Hello Julie
Beatiful photo's from a lovely little bird.
Greetings and a good sunday.
Bets

Julie Hargreaves said...

Beautiful birds

Nigella Hillgarth said...

love this!

Dan said...

Oh sweet smucker goodness, these are fab!

KaHolly said...

Beautiful, beautiful birds. I'll never forget the first time I saw one. Time just stopped for a few minutes! Love that feeder! Provides room for everything. I keep a bowl of jelly out for my robins and song sparrows, too, and this year, my nesting Yellow Warblers have enjoyed the sweet treat! You just never know!!

Unknown said...

Orioles and tanagers just love grape jelly. It's so much fun to watch them at the feeders! Lovely post and photos. :-)

stardust said...

How cute! Your photos are terrific as always, this time especially the detailed movement of the birds savoring the feast. Orange color is impressive, the birds, the fruits, and the feeder. I really enjoyed this post, Julie.

Yoko

Natuurpresentaties, Kees Boele said...

Superb pictures, compliments from Holland.

Rohrerbot said...

You are so lucky! This is one bird I have yet to see this year. As always, fantastic shots! A person here told me that it pays to put jelly out early because they'll stick around if they know there is food around.....looks yummy:)

Debbie Miller @HooootOwl said...

How fortunate you are to have two oriole families nesting so near you. They sure are enjoying the jelly! Love the sticky tongue views! I didn't know cat birds liked jelly! Great post, loved your photos!

cindyzlogic said...

Julie, how wonderful to have these beautiful Orioles! I really like your feeder :-))
We had more Orioles than usual this Spring...they chased away the Ruby-throated Hummers.

Scott Simmons said...

beautiful orioles, Julie!

Unknown said...

Hello Julie,
My name is Ernie Allison and I work with Perky-Pet®. Our newest project honors people who are dedicated to capturing the best possible images of our avian friends. The effort you put into finding, waiting and capturing the right moment in time to capture your shots is quite amazing. I love the most recent post with the pictures of the Oriole. It is really great set of photos, with such vibrant, fantastic colors. It is for the effort you put into capturing and sharing your wonderful photos that Perky-Pet® would like to award you the “Eye in the Sky” badge. We hope you will accept this badge in appreciation of all the fantastic work you do on Nature's Splendor.

If it is something you would be interested in, we certainly hope you are, please email me back at Ernie.Allison63@gmail.com

Sincerely,
Ernie

Jim Braswell said...

Wonderful post/pix, Julie!

John's Island said...

Hi Julie, I sure got a lot of smiles out of this post … as always, a wonderful set of birding photos. Just fascinating to see the birds enjoying the sweet offerings. And a great title as well! I hope summer is treating you and your family well and that you are finding time to get out and capture more awesome birding photos to share with us soon. (Just typical for me … always wishing for more of a good thing! Ha ha.) Thank you so much for sharing your blog and for your kind comments on mine. As I’ve mentioned before, you are definitely one of my inspiring forces! Wishing you the best, John

Kathie Brown said...

How nice to have these delightful birds as yard birds! They look like little kids eating p&j's only lacking the Peanut butter! I guess they are saving that for the nuthatches and woodpeckers!

Unknown said...

Hey Julie,
I just wanted to get in touch with you and see if you were able to look at my previous message. I would love to talk to you about the Eye in the Sky award. Thank you for your time and have a great day Julie!

-Ernie
Ernie.Allison63@gmail.com

Rebecca said...

How fun! I saw them for the first time this year when they were migrating through my area. Great series of photos! :)

Connie Arnold said...

How interestsing that they like jelly! Those are great shots! Thanks for sharing.

Gunnar Hustad said...

Excellent pictures!

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Julie,
Thinking about your Dear Dad...
Hugs,
Mariette

Manuel Luis said...

São o nosso tesouro, não podemos viver sem eles.
Excelentes fotografias roubando do seu precioso tempo.
Abraço e bj

forgetmenot said...

Julie, Wonderful photos of the orioles. You have plenty of entertainment right in your own backyard. Who would have thought oranges and grape jelly would be so popular. Always nice to scroll through your blog. Mickie :)

CabinGirl said...

Fabulous photos, Julie! I love feeders that are multi-purpose/multi-bird. This sure looks like it is! Hope your summer went well :-)

Kirsti said...

Kaunis, värikäs lintu. Herkullista syötävää:)

Renegades said...

What great pictures.....the orange is so vibrant.

Manuel Luis said...

Ofertas merecida, Eles merecem pelo excelente desempenho nas nossas vidas.
Já viu os filhos do noitibó?
Foi uma sorte este ano conseguir encontrar aquele ninho. Está sempre a mudar de sítio e isso torna difícil acompanhar.
Bj

KaHolly said...

I had a young catbird show up on my property this early fall and hang out for about 3 weeks. He absolutely loved the jelly I had out there for the Song Sparrows. Nearly ate me out of house and home.

Joop Zand said...

A lot lovely colored birds Julie....your pictures are always so very nice....thanks for sharing and your comment on my blog.

Wish you a nice day.

Greetings, Joop