Homemade Orange Oriole Feeders

Orange orioles, like all other oriole types, prefer sweet food. Their preferences include nectar, sugary fruit, flowers, bread, jelly and peas. A variety of food choices should be placed in the feeder to attract orioles. Although commercial feeders are available, homemade ones can be more economical and serve just as well.

  1. Old Christmas Tree Feeder

    • Even when the holidays are over, the Christmas tree can still be put to good use. Hanging fruit in its branches will attract orange orioles quite easily. Fruit hangings preferred by orange orioles are apples, bananas, berries, oranges and peaches. Pine cones can also be strewn around it, coated with grape or orange jelly, peanut butter or both.

    Soda Bottle Feeder

    • Punch holes on opposite sides a quarter up from the bottom of a soda bottle. Put a stick through the two holes, long enough to serve as perches for the birds. It is important for the holes to be slightly larger than the diameter of the stick so the birds can reach the food inside the bottle. With a funnel, fill the bottle with bits of bread or fruit. Moisture can be kept from accumulating by punching tiny holes at the bottom of the bottle. Hang the bottle by stringing some small rope or wire around the top and suspend the assembly on a tree branch.

    Mesh Bag Feeder

    • This feeder can serve well for suet (hardened rendered pork fat) rolled in peanut butter, berries, oranges, apples and bananas and bird seed. Find a mesh bag, like the ones onions are packaged in, and secure the suet inside. Tie a piece of string on top and hang it from a branch.

    Beverage Carton Feeder

    • Cut two large opposite holes on a paper carton (milk or juice). The windows should be large enough for the birds to reach the food inside. Coloring the box with crayons will make it more attractive for the birds. Fill the box with flowers, bread pieces or kitchen scraps. Tie a string through a hole at the top and find a suitable area to hang it in. Smaller cartons can be filled with some homemade or commercial nectar or jelly.