Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Bullock's Oriole


Yesterday morning I did a Little Sit at my community of Avimor's greenbelt trail along Spring Valley Creek.  Basically, I sat in the same spot for over an hour, hidden a bit by the willows, and let the birds come to me.  It was pretty cool!  I started right off with half a dozen Cedar Waxwings, four Western Kingbirds, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, and several Yellow Warblers right over my head.  Later came the Yellow-breasted Chats (which I'll feature in an upcoming post) and the Bullock's Orioles.  The color of yellow-orange on a Bullock's Oriole is part of what sparked my interest in birds and it amazes me every time I see.  I can only describe it as a flame of color.

Three female orioles flew into the bush right in front of me.  Suddenly, two males came in to check out the ladies.  It was awesome to be so close and watch the males try to establish dominance over one another while the females all cackled.

The image above was cropped, but you just have to see what I cropped out!
See the other male sneaking up!

And then they sparred.

And then there was one.

I didn't know Bullock's Orioles did some flycatching too, but if you look closely you can see the bug in the air just a little bit above and in front of the oriole in flight.

The less brilliant, but always lovely, female Bullock's Oriole.



15 comments:

  1. Beauty in Orange..I did enlage the photo and see the bug!

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  2. The Oriole was also one of our first birds. Their beauty is breathtaking!

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  3. Awesome experience ... beautiful captures!

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  4. Wow! Sounds like a wonderful experience. Fabulous photos of gorgeous birds. Looking forward to your next post!

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  5. Amazing Robert! I have not seen this species yet this year!

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  6. Wow what a amazing bird. Gorgeous! Great photography also.

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  7. Gorgeous shots of the Bullocks Oriole. It is a beautiful bird. It must have been great to sit there and let the birds come to you!

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  8. Beautiful bird! Such vibrance in the feathers!

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  9. A great experience to sit and have the birds come to you. I like your description of the interaction between the birds.

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  10. Not bad for about an hour's worth of birding! The Bullock's Oriole series of photographs are very interesting.

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  11. Moments like that are exactly why I am a birder.

    Great shots and good birding!

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  12. wow, what a beautiful bird. :) And great photos. They are easy to see despite all branches. :)

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  13. Great sit Robert! I have always said that if you sit in the right place long enough, the birds will come to you.

    The best thing about this birding method is that the birds take you as part of the natural surroundings and act naturally. It's always fun to watch bird behavior when they are not worried about you pointing a camera at them. Plus you get to enjoy a peaceful time in the great outdoors.

    Beautiful shots of the Bullock's Oriole Robert.

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  14. Lovely photos and story. Nice to capture the interaction between the males. Orioles are such pretty birds, the female too indeed.

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