Orchard Orioles- Temporary Guests

For a few weeks, an Orchard Oriole couple took up residence in a large tree in the back yard. This was the second couple to nest in our yard this season.  I observed the female as she gathered nesting materials and repeatedly made round trips to and from the tree. Unfortunately, the nest was too high for me to capture images of their eggs or offspring.  As a matter of fact. it was tough to capture images of the parent orioles too.  If I tried to get in closer, they darted away.  I watched for fledglings to come within the range of my lens but didn't see any, ever.  

Orchard Oriole, Female and her nest

Orchard Oriole, Adult Male

The inset within the photo above right is an adult male Orchard Oriole (not my photo).  He is a beautiful bird, dressed in black and crimson.  The adult female has bright yellow-green plumage which makes it easy to distinguish the sexes.  A first year male (see image below) also has yellow plumage- with a black face mask. 

Orchard Oriole, First Summer Male

Perhaps next summer I'll capture better, closer images of these beautiful, but elusive birds.  I wrote about their song in my May 13th post here.  The Orchard Oriole's song is among my favorites.