Bullock's Oriole at Snake River

Last year around this time we were preparing to depart on our Yellowstone trip. Before heading into Yellowstone we swung over into Idaho to visit the Snake River Bird of Prey Conservation Area. Our timing was excellent because we would be in the area at the time of the Snake River Birds of Prey Festival.

We very pleasantly surprised by all of the cool field trips and lectures that the festival had to offer. One of the highlights of our whole vacation that year was getting to hold and photograph burrowing owl chicks that were only days old. Unfortunately we will not be heading to Yellowstone this spring, we went to Texas instead, so we are not attending this years festival but if you are in the area on May 14 - 16 I would definitely recommend this festival. You can find more information here http://www.snakeriverbirdsofpreyfestival.com/

While we were in the Snake River area we had the opportunity to photograph Bullock's orioles. This was cool as we do not find Bullock's orioles here in Minnesota, their range is the western half of the US. The Bullock's oriole and it's eastern relative the Baltimore oriole were once considered the same species, the northern oriole. After a closer study it was determined that the two types were different enough to be considered separate species, although the species will mix where their ranges overlap.

The Bullock's orioles nest is made of woven fibers hung between tree branches. The fibers can be hair, grass, or man made, like in this case where the nest was made of fishing line. Inside the nest is lined soft materials like cottonwood seeds or feathers. The nest is built in an isolated tree which is often by water. This nest was located in Celebration Park which is located on the bank of the Snake River. Next spring we will probably return to Yellowstone and possibly make it back to Snake River for the festival.