Brooklyn's wild parakeets
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
(Photo credit - Steve Nanz)
Many Brooklynites have had encounters with our latest immigrant population - Monk Parakeets. They visit our feeders, forage in the city parks and build huge nests on telephone poles. The best known colony nests on the Victorian Gothic Revival spires at the entrance to the Green-wood Cemetery. Here's a website dedicated to our industrious neighbors:
http://www.brooklynparrots.com/
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2 comments:
Monk parakeets have been showing up at my bird feeder in Bay Ridge for about a year now. I had never saw them before, but now the Monks show up daily. Is it possible that their range/number in Brooklyn is expanding?
On another note: whatever happened to Split-tail and Big Mama in Prospect Park. Any sightings recently?
Very instructional blog for us amateur birders. Also find the nature links and photos very helpful. Congratulations on an excellent all-around birding/nature blog!
Thank you for your kind words. I'm not certain if the Monk Parakeets are expanding in Brooklyn. I see small flocks in Prospect Park occasionally but they've never nested in the park. It's probably inevitable that they disperse as their numbers increase...I think that's the way of all species.
Split-tail disappeared last year and has not resurfaced. I keep catching glimpses of a red-tail that I'm fairly certain is Big Mama. There is a chance that she's back with a new mate as I found a note on the New York City Bird Report website regarding a hawk sighting. The observer said he saw the red-tail inspecting the old nest sites! There's still hope for this year.
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