Date: 5/20/26 10:04 am From: Donna Lee Scott <dls9...> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Orioles no longer attracted to the grape jelly
I have 2 jelly + orange dishes hung out.
I have had Orioles off & on up till 2 days ago. My experience at Kendal in Cayuga Hts. (4 years) has been that they come a lot initially, then find other foods elsewhere.
At my more woodsie , former lakeside home on Lansing Station Rd I had lots of both B & Orchard Orioles at the jelly/ orange feeders for awhile, then they would slack off.
Here I have seen at least 1 charming catbird eating jelly for several days & it “meows” while it is eating!!
Of course I am not watching all the time , so don’t know who comes when I’m not watching.
In addition, I have seen chickadees & B. Orioles trying to get sugar water from the hummingbird feeder here, which has round bee guards in each plastic flower.
So they seem to fail to get a drink.
At Lansing there were feisty B. Orioles that broke & ripped out the bee guards, so they could get the nectar from the little tubes in the plastic flower!
Whoever thinks birds are not smart hasn’t been watching!
That bee guard destruction has not happened with same kind of H bird feeder here at Kendal (yet)!
Donna Scott
Kendal at Ithaca-377
Sent from my iPhone
On May 20, 2026, at 12:12 PM, Evelyn Weinstein <myisland3...> wrote:
I think that's true, what Karen says. I also am seeing lots of other species on the grape jelly - Catbirds, and even, oddly,
the occasional Red Bellied Woodpecker! That surprised me.
Happy spring!
Evie
On Wed, May 20, 2026 at 11:30 AM Karen Edelstein <karen.edelstein...><mailto:<karen.edelstein...>> wrote:
As the weather ×arms up, they may be finding more nutritious and protein-rich insect food.
On Wed, May 20, 2026, 11:25 AM Jeanne Sullivan (via CAYUGABIRDS-L list) <CAYUGABIRDS-L...><mailto:<CAYUGABIRDS-L...>> wrote:
I am in Interlaken, and I have tons of Orioles in the morning. I will pay attention as to whether the crowds diminish.
Jeanne
Is the grape jelly just a sugar fix for the orioles upon their first few days of return to their breeding grounds? I ask because this is my first year of providing grape jelly and I'm puzzled by the sudden lack of interest. Last week I had several males and 2 females all over it. This week it's being completely ignored. The birds are still in the area, so what changed?
