Oriole Leaving the Nest

This nest-in-progress is under construction by Baltimore Orioles. The bird in flight is very probably a female, since the head is not as fully black as a male's would be.  Our reference book on this indicates indeed  that the female is the primary nest builder. Here is a finished nest, watched over by a male (almost exactly eleven years ago, at a different location).

We were out at a nearby sanctuary recently taken over by the Fish and Wildlife Service, which has constructed a superb path.  Not incidentally, my ID of the bird as a female was mainly due to an ornithologist friend (the one I often quote) whom I saw at our bird club meeting tonight; he had seen the bird at the nest yesterday.