Saturday, April 30, 2016

Back Yard Birding: A Hooded Oriole Family

Yesterday while sitting in my office working, Christine came over to say there was a large yellow bird in the oasis. (Large I took to mean larger than the many Lesser Goldfinches we have).

So I grabbed my camera and went into the oasis for a look. He had been in one of our mesquite trees but now nowhere to be found. Yet, a few minutes later one of our guests spotted him over by our fan palms. 

I could see right away that it was an immature oriole; maybe Bullocks, maybe Hooded. As I checked Sibley's I found the following statement for the Hooded Oriole: "uncommon in open wooded or brushy habitats, often near fan palms..."

I have photos of about a dozen different Hooded Orioles -- and none on or even near fan palms. Now, here was this oriole in our backyard hanging out on and near fan palms. I figured I had my answer.

An hour or so later I spotted both the adult male and female -- though didn't have my camera with me. 

Here are some of the photos of the young male Hooded Oriole: 








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