Male and Female Baltimore Oriole and Their Nest

I love the nest of the Baltimore Oriole. Woven like an intricate basket, it suspends freely in the shelter of leafy branches. The winds and rain of late spring can batter it and knock it about, but it is fastened so well, it remains in place.

I love to pass under the oriole nest on a warm summer day as it sways gently in a breeze and rocks the hatchlings as they sleep. I have an image in my mind, perhaps from a passage in the book Indian Boyhood, by Charles Eastman (native name, Ohiyesa), of a papoose child-carrier swaying in a soft wind from a low branch in a tree while the mother worked nearby. I think of this image when I see the oriole nest, certain that indigenous people learned from and imitated nature.

Above and below are photos I took today of the mother oriole at the nest. 

The two photos below are of the father oriole at the same nest today. Like most male birds, his colors are richer than the female.

In my observation, the male and the female are equally involved in the care of the nest and the offspring.

I haven't yet seen signs of the baby birds, but I suspect they are in this nest either as eggs or tiny hatchlings! I hope to have an update and more photos in the next couple of weeks!

(Click on an image to enlarge and then scroll through all photos in this post.)