Until I read Maeve’s posting about oranges and jelly I had forgotten that some people put out jelly (most commonly grape) along with oranges for the orioles (and squirrels). 
I would like to remind (or inform) everyone that most commercial jellies contain genetically modified ingredients in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. You may want to read the ingredients list on your jelly jar label to make sure it doesn’t contain a sugar substitute. Unfortunately many people buy the same brand of jelly that they (and their mother) have always bought and don’t realize that the sugar has been replaced with a GMO product.
Our orioles deserve the best we can give them.

Denis Poley
Richmond, VT

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 23, 2019, at 9:23 AM, Maeve Kim <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> We’ve been getting great enjoyment from feeding orioles oranges and jelly - and then the orange halves started disappearing. The whole things! As if a monstrous bird had swooped down and snatched them away. After two days, we saw a squirrel (a female with young, judging from her underneath) deftly getting around the squirrel guard and running off with half an orange. A while later, we looked out the window and saw her jumping to the ground holding in her mouth the little metal cup holding jelly!
> I charged out of the house, yelling. The squirrel streaked across the lawn. I followed. She dashed up a small tree. I shook the tree, hard. She dropped to the ground at my feet, her teeth still clenched around the edge of the jelly cup. She raced behind the barn. I raced behind the barn. She zipped around a woodpile. I zipped (well, as well as a human can). She tore up another tree. I picked up a stick and threw it at her. She FINALLY dropped the metal cup, right side up, still full of jelly.
> Score one for humans!
> Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
>