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Both parents spent considerable time guarding the nest.  But as the chicks grew, so did the parents' time away from the nest...

Here is her beautiful self yet again...The wind was blowing fairly steady that day and at the moment I caught this photo, she was singing. Perhaps rocking the kids to sleep with a lullaby...

A closer view of the nest.

Here's a shot of the first nest we saw them build, in 2006.  The nest was built heavily of fishing line and the photo was taken in the spring of 2007, just before the tree leafed out.  The nest construction is much easier to see and looks to be nearly STILL intact after a long winter in Indiana.  This nest was on the East ...

Another shot of the male in the top of the Oak tree.

Here he is alone in the Oak tree.

The male Oriole spent his fair share of time guarding the nest as well.  Unfortunately, as the babies' appetites grew, we found that both parents were often gone from the nest.  During one such time, disaster struck the Oriole's family...

We often observed both the male and female Orioles singing just above the nest and having just fed the kids.  We presume it is a call that lets the other parent know that another kid just got fed...

The male Oriole did his fair share of the feeding!  Note the dark bars under his tail.  The female lacks these bars.  His tail is slightly more yellow than the orange found her tail.

The hunt was a success!  The female Oriole has a white grub-like critter in beak...She's just waiting for the kids to get their hands washed before she puts dinner on the table!