Grape Jelly Oriole Feeders

Over the past few years, I have created grape jelly feeders equipped with shingled roofs and re-usable containers for our summer Orioles.  The key to these feeders was to mimic the yellows and reds of a Hummingbird feeder but giving shelter to them and their jelly during a warm summer rain. When our first sighting of Orioles were noted years ago, they flocked to the sweet nectar in our Hummingbird feeders however; they would be flipped in all different directions on the little perches just to grab a taste of nectar.   After observing them for a season, I thought it was time to create a little red station of their own.

Around the first week of May, our first male Oriole appears scoping out his surroundings.  At that time, a feeder filled with grape jelly is perched and within a few days, that Oriole brings his friends and family to share in a grape jelly frenzy for the rest of the summer.  By having a couple plastic containers fitted to the feeder and readily available, it makes it much easier to load up new jelly in a fresh container and replace the empty container for cleaning and alternate use.  No running out and in then, back out and in.    

Captioned below is the process of creating these amazing, time saving feeders.  If you connect with an Oriole and it's family, be prepared to purchase a fair amount of grape jelly for the season however; keep in mind that it is only for a few months then they're gone.  In the end, it is money well spent to enjoy the site of beautiful colours, nature and tranquility.  
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Each piece of the feeder is hand sawn with an old fashion mitre box.

Layers of Carpenter's glue is applied to the container holder and base.

First coat of Apple Red Acrylic paint applied to feeders.

3 coats of Helmsman spar urethane added to the base of each engraved feeder, (skipped #13).

Posts cut at 45° angles, ready for painting.

Starting to assemble posts on to roof tops.

Creating posts for mounting roof

First coat of red applied to posts.

Building roofs to mount to feeders. Glue drying is a very slow process.

Roofs mounted, stenciling done. Final coats of exterior urethane to be added.

Urethane applied with final curing.