Female Baltimore Oriole

I saw this Baltimore Oriole on May 14, 2014 along the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. A male Baltimore Oriole was much higher in the canopy of the tree flaunting his brilliant orange feathers, but this little female, understated in faded orange, was just as sweet, and she came in closer…

Female Baltimore Oriole, Magee Marsh, Toledo, OH (5-14-2014).

A female Baltimore Oriole studies a caterpillar before gobbling it up. Orioles also eat berries and even drink nectar from fruit blossoms.

I think it's hard to tell juvenile and female Baltimore Oriole's apart. Since this was early May, and most Baltimore Orioles don't return to Lake Erie until the first week of May, I assumed this was a female. Nest building starts soon after they arrive, and most babies fledge in late June and early July. 

Females build beautiful hanging nests. If you're in Cincinnati, you can often find a nest at Lake Isabella. I've seen nests there, and in the autumn, when the leaves fall from the trees, you can find the remnants of the summer's nesting activities! Click here for a photo of an oriole's nest.

This post is for Aunt Diane and Curg, whose spark bird was a male Baltimore Oriole they saw at Armleder Park (aka Armendinger Park) in Cincinnati, OH.

p.s. I'm enjoying our cooler weather. It was 49 degrees this morning, and I just had to go in and get a fleece-lined flannel shirt so I could continue sitting outside while I write this post.

Great Crested Flycatcher along the boardwalk...

With a sunshine-yellow belly and a loud, cheerful call, the Great Crested Flycatcher represents summer well. I don't get to see them often, though, because they like to hang out high in the canopy, so I was happy when one came into view along the boardwalk at Magee Marsh…

The famous lemon yellow belly of a Great Crested Flycatcher is always a welcome sight on a summer day.

Great Crested Flycatchers don't have much of a crest when they are at rest!

The little "whiskers" around the base of the bill are called "rictal bristles." They have a sensory function to help flycatchers snatch insects from the air.

...there's the start of the crest!

...and it's back down.

...and there we have it (not as "great" as a cardinal's crest, but pretty none-the-less). 

About rictal bristles...
Rictal bristles are modified contour feathers (the outer feathers you can see). Contour feathers have a central rachis (also called a shaft) from which the vanes (the feathery part) attach. A vane is made of individual barbs (filaments). A rictal bristle is a feather without the barbs…just the rachis.

Flycatchers have rictal bristles around their bills to help them sense flying insects, but rictal bristles can also be protective by helping to keep insects out of a bird's eyes, or in the case of woodpeckers, by helping to keep wood chips out of their eyes. If you want to learn more about feather structure, click here for info on Cornell's "All About Birds" site.

I saw this bird at the Biggest Week in American birding on the Magee Marsh boardwalk back in May.