Oriole Food: How to Make Your Own Oriole Food with this Homemade Oriole Nectar Recipe ...
How to Make Oriole Food:
Oriole Nectar Recipe
Copyright 2004-2007 Jane Lake
If you are lucky enough to have willows, poplars, elms or cherry trees in your yard, you already have a favorable environment to attract orioles. If you don't, however, there are still several simple ways to attract orioles to your garden.
Orioles feed on insects and caterpillars, but also like nuts, suet, and fruit such as oranges, cherries, apples, pears or bananas. In additon to offering the oriole nectar from the recipe below, consider offering chopped fruit on a feeding platform, or nailing half an orange to a tree (simply hammer in the nail, then force the nail through the skin of the orange). Replace fruit daily to ensure the food is fresh and doesn't go moldy.
You could also leave various nesting materials nearby, to encourage the orioles to nest near your home. Good choices include cat or dog fur, dryer lint, or short pieces (3-4 inches) of natural fiber twine and yarn.
There's no need to buy expensive Oriole nectar - make your own, from this simple Oriole syrup recipe:
Oriole Nectar Recipe
1 part sugar/6 parts water
Boil the water first, then measure and add sugar, at the rate of 1/3 cup of sugar to 2 cups of water.
Let cool and store excess in refrigerator until ready to use.
Although commercial oriole food is usually orange colored, do not add food coloring, honey (which ferments), or artificial sweetener to this homemade oriole food recipe.
You will need to clean your feeder every few days, with hot water and a mild (10%) bleach solution to inhibit mold. Rinse thoroughly before refilling with water syrup.
Is it okay to split the difference between oriole and hummingbird ratio. A gentleman at a store told me I could use a hummingbird feeder also for orioles by removing one of the flowers to facilitate feeding. Is a ratio of 5:1 okay for both birds? I wouldn't want to harm them!
Darrell Howard – Eastern Kentucky
Jun 18, 2009 - 21:34
I have out the correct feeder for yellow birds and Orioles, and so far have not seen any yellow birds. My daughter in the next county does have them. What could be wrong. Thanks, Lorraine P. Howard
kate – Missouri
May 31, 2009 - 08:37
please tell how the grape jelly works and where you found a flower feeder to fit the lid of a jelly jar!! that is cool!!
Reply to kate
Jody
Jul 01, 2009 - 18:06
I put in Jelly feeder in google and came up with a bunch, there is one at Drs Forster and Smith that looked good.
Dawn – Manchester, NH
May 25, 2009 - 21:12
For the first time, we have Orioles nesting on our property in a very tall oak. We have nectar feeders for hummingbirds and Orioles, and funny enough the Oriole tries to drink from the hummingbird feeder. We have also set out peanut butter and jelly, as well as orange halves and suet on a feeding platform for the Orioles. You can use disposable souffle cups for the peanut butter and jelly. To attract hummingbirds, try incorporating hanging baskets or bags or petunias or impatients (red or purple) near the feeders, as hummingbirds will feed from both.
Michelle – Western New York
May 23, 2009 - 22:09
I have several humming birds every year, but have never tried an oriole feeder. I just bought one and was looking up how to mix the food. When I make my humming bird food, I mix it two parts water to one part sugar. So I was surprised that the oriole mixture was a 6/1 ratio. That seems like it would be too weak...(like Kool-Aid) But I will try it and see what happens. We have horses and I have seen a few orioles hanging around. I have heard that they like to use horse hair to make their nests.
I have also seen them try to use the humming bird feeder and just about tip it over. I was not sure if I should hang the oriole feeder from a pole or from a tree branch? I am also curious about the grape jelly. How do you put that out for them??
Reply to Michelle
Craig – California
May 24, 2009 - 18:14
Hi Michelle! Good luck with attracting orioles! They are truly beautiful and fun to watch. However, and just a suggestion....the prescribed mixture of sugar to water, for hummingbirds, is 1 to 4, not 1 to 2. The Audubon Society states that that combination most closely resembles actual flower nectar. If you do that, also, the 'jump' from 1 to 4 to 1 to 6 (for orioles) is much easier for both species to handle. Good luck!
Reply to Michelle
jtweedt
Jun 05, 2009 - 11:24
I use 4/1 ratio. Put out grape jelly and they will come!
Reply to Michelle
Jean – wis
Jun 17, 2009 - 11:54
I thought hummingbird food was 4:1 ratio ?
Kris – Northern Minnesota
May 21, 2009 - 22:54
Linda, in answer to your question:
What do you do with the grape jelly? Put it in a dish? Or just plop it onto the feeder platform? Doesn't it attract ants?
I don't plop it on the feeder platform because it would ferment in the wood and make a mess. You can put it in a little dish or plop it on something non-porous. I cut the top half off of small yogurt containers or large vitamin bottles and put it in there. Yes, the ants will enjoy it, but since the orioles also eat ants it's not much of a problem. LOL! My main problem is the chipmunks getting into it. They love it!
I've noticed that the orioles only stay around when the weather is coolish. If it gets too hot they will migrate further north. If we have a mild summer, they stay all year.
They seem to be attracted to anything orange. I got one of those little plastic mesh baskets in day-glo orange and wired it to the post of my birdfeeder. It's large enough to put an orange half, a small cup of jelly, and a dish for mealworms. The orioles and other birds perch on the sides and partake of all three. I also have a bright orange colander that I turn upside-down (like a dome) on my porch and put jelly and oranges on the top. The orioles are attracted to the color and come to investigate. That puts them smack in front of my window when they feed. They sure are pretty! I love oriole season! :)
Oriole feeders are similar to hummingbird feeders, but are colored orange, rather than red, with larger feeding holes to accomodate the larger size of the birds.
DELUXE 36oz ORIOLE FEEDER 
