On the afternoon of February 19, 2006, I was walking around Lakebottom Park in Columbus, Georgia, counting birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count. The sky was overcast, but I noticed an orangish bird high in a tree across from the park. I snapped a few photos and then followed it as it flew over to the park. It soon returned to the its original perch and then flew off out of sight.

After returning home and enlarging the images, I compared the photos with the Sibley guide and determined that I had a first fall male Baltimore Oriole. I wasn’t expecting one so early in the year, so I assume that this individual is wintering in the area.

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