Orioles do consume nectar. That's probably what they're after. On Tue, May 15, 2018, 2:43 PM Melanie Uhlir <mela...@mwmu.com> wrote:
> I have very much been enjoying the glorious and fragrant blossoms of > crabapple trees, especially at the collection of said trees in the F.R. > Newman Arboretum. I have further been delighted by the frequenting of > these trees by orioles (I've only seen males so far). I am curious if > anyone knows what they are gleaning from the buds and blossoms. They do > not appear to be eating the buds or flower petals. They delicately put > the bills in the blossoms, coming away with something that is invisible > to me. Nectar? Pollen? Tiny insects? Stamens? Whatever they are doing it > is certainly lovely to watch. And they like it so much that I saw two > males in one tree seemingly oblivious to each other. > > > -- > > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm > > ARCHIVES: > 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html > 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds > 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html > > Please submit your observations to eBird: > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ > > -- > -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
