Icterus galbula
Identification. Brilliant orange and black male with white wing bar. Female and immature yellowish-olive with grayer wings. Rich, fluty whistled song from high in deciduous trees.
Status in Michigan. Common breeding migrant statewide. Baltimore Oriole is a common breeding bird across the Lower Peninsula and southern Upper Peninsula. Arrival in early May, departure in late August and September. Spring migration concentrations at south-shore Lake Erie sites can be spectacular.
Habitat. Open deciduous woodland, mature suburban yards with elms or other tall trees, orchards, riparian edges.
Where to find Baltimore Oriole. Best attracted to backyards with orange halves or grape jelly feeders in May. The Detroit River corridor and Pointe Mouillee are excellent spring migration concentration points.
Best Michigan counties for Baltimore Oriole. Washtenaw, Wayne, Monroe, Berrien, Kent. Click any county above to see recent Baltimore Oriole sightings and hotspot information.
Conservation. Common across breeding range. Modest long-term declines flagged by BBS data; not currently of conservation concern.
The sightings table below this section pulls live Baltimore Oriole reports from eBird across all 83 Michigan counties, refreshed every 15 minutes. For comprehensive historical records and global range information, the eBird species profile and Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World account are the authoritative references.
Edited by Chris Izworski, Bay City, Michigan. Sightings data from eBird, updated every 15 minutes.