Growing up my mom always had a bunch of bird feeders in the backyard. From sunflower seeds for the bigger birds (squirrels), mesh sacks for finches to cling to, sugar syrup for hummingbirds, and of course hallowed out orange halves filled with grape jelly for Orioles. That last one comes with a word of caution from a wildlife rehab center in Wisconsin.

The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at Wisconsin Humane Society shared a post of an Oriole they helped rehabilitate this week after a bird feeder incident involving grape jelly:

This guy somehow got covered in grape jelly from a birdfeeder. As simple as an issue as that sounds, this bird was actually critically debilitated - he was so sticky and weighted down that he couldn’t fly at all. Not to mention the terrible stress he had endured from this situation.

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The rehab center shared that it is still OK to feed Orioles grape jelly, they just recommend using a small dish with a small amount of jelly. That way the birds won't end up too sticky to fly, and it ensures the jelly stays fresh and clean for the birds to enjoy. That might mean having to fill your feeder more often, but that is minor in the grand scheme of keeping these beautiful birds happy and healthy.

This particular Oriole that ended up in the care of the Wisconsin Humane Society got a good bath, a little emotional support, and was safely and successfully released back into the wild.

Happy bird watching!

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