The O’s are a disappointment. But the Baltimore orioles? They are glorious.

This is the time of year for Baltimore’s birds — those pint-sized songsters whose bold tangerine sets off beautifully against the green trees. In backyards, they can be elusive, flitting from branch to branch as they forage among the tassels of black walnut trees and hunt for insects.

You don’t have to venture deep into the woods to see these beauties. They like open woodlands, forest edges, and leafy, deciduous trees that loom above shallow water.

In other words, Cromwell Valley.

This suburban park near Towson in Baltimore County is a can’t-miss spot for orioles. Visit over the next two or three weeks, and you will see Baltimore baseball fans looking for a bright spot in Birdland — in the sky, and not on the field.

Sue Johnson is ready. The Glen Burnie resident works at Camden Yards, focused on the game day experience. She came to Cromwell Valley with her husband, Glenn, to spot the avian orioles. Though they’re not far, the couple said they never see orioles in their yard. They found their birds in a tree along Minebank Run, a stream that runs through the park.

Sue wore her Orioles cap and jersey. She reminded me they had won the night before, against the Los Angeles Angels. She has not lost hope.

Landscape photographer Beth Tribe describes herself as a “hometown girl” and roots for the O’s no matter what. But with a long lens pointing up to the tree, her excitement was reserved for the oriole, or Icterus galbula.

“Oh, look at you ... looook at you!” she trilled as a pair of orioles chased each other between two trees above Minebank Run. “Today is a good, good day.”

Tribe is of the Boog and Brooks generation, when the Orioles filled Memorial Stadium and Hall of Fame broadcaster Chuck Thompson would bellow: “Ain’t the beer cold!” after every home run.

“I still love my O’s, hon,” said Tribe, of Reisterstown. “I still support my home team, no matter what. But I’m here to see these orioles. The orange — it’s stunning, kind of unique. You don’t see too many orange birds.”

Fun fact: Female Baltimore orioles are lemon-yellow. So are female orchard orioles, which you can find at Cromwell and also at nearby Oregon Ridge Park. Male orchard orioles, though, look like they’ve overstayed their time on a tanning bed. They’re rusty-dark.

A female Baltimore Oriole carries a tuft of material to line her nest in a Sycamore tree.

Beth Tribe points her camera toward a bird while looking for orioles along Minebank Trail.

Baltimore Orioles’ range includes the Eastern United States and as far west as Montana. But they do favor their home state and home city quite a bit.

So many orioles fans come to Cromwell Valley that the park created a page to tell visitors about these birds and where you can find them. (Hint — the tree across from bluebird box 26. Look for the low-hanging branches. Also along Minebank Run just before the kilns.)

The orioles are timid, and require patience. (Good advice for the team, too.) Every Saturday morning, Cromwell Valley naturalists do a bird walk. Last weekend, Laura Lechtzin led a happy troupe who reported seeing so many species they kept interrupting each other to list more.

A pair of Baltimore Orioles rest in some brush following a territorial pursuit at Cromwell Valley Park.

I had my own guide in Jerry Jackson, our photographer and an excellent birder who had already scoped out the park. After playing me their sounds on his app, we headed to Bluebird Box 26 on the Sycamore Trail and watched four orioles chase each other through the sky. Unbothered by the local road noise, they sang out, focused on their nest-building and feeding rituals.

They’ll be here for the rest of May. No doubt so will the birders who love them. Count me in their number.