During the past 40 years, a steady range expansion at the northern limits of the nesting range of Orchard Orioles has been studied in Ontario using the annual Breeding Bird Atlas surveys as the basis to monitor this colorful species' expanding nesting range in southeast Ontario. Information reported by Birds Canada indicates that Orchard Orioles have a remarkable ability to adapt to the fragmented landscapes that are increasingly present across southern Ontario, such as scattered groves of trees and city parks. These spaces mimic the open woods and woodland edges that Orchard Orioles select for nesting, highlighting the value of prioritizing high-quality greenspaces in towns and wooded areas.
Wintering from northwest Columbia throughout Central America to central Mexico, each May Orchard Orioles migrate north to their expansive nesting range that extends east from the western Great Plains to the Atlantic Ocean, and from southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan to central Mexico. Orchard Orioles are most often found in "edge habitats," like open woodlands, orchards, among shade trees in agricultural and suburban areas, wooded wetland areas, and forest edges. These interesting orioles often nest in deciduous trees, seeming to thrive in habitats with few people and open groves of trees, including farms and parklands, with suburban areas providing ever-improving nesting and foraging habitat.
During the nesting season, Orchard Orioles mostly consume small insects including larval caterpillars they glean from vegetation, but they also eat small ripe fruits and nectar when available. Their interest in fruit and nectar extends to backyard bird feeders where they relish grape jelly and orange slices, and sometimes sugar-water nectar as prepared for hummingbird feeders. In tropical wintering areas, Orchard Orioles regularly feed on flower nectar, and they are helpful pollinators for some tropical plants. As an individual oriole feeds on flower nectar, its head becomes dusted with pollen, and the oriole inadvertently transfers accumulated pollen from flower to flower.
Orchard Orioles are in the midst of their nesting season now, but they will begin migrating south by late July – such a short time for us to enjoy such a lovely and interesting species north of Mexico. To learn more about the expansion of the nesting range of Orchard Orioles ever-farther north in Ontario, see Thriving on the Edge: The Orchard Oriole's Northward Journey - Birds Canada | Oiseaux Canada