Want to see one of the weirdest strangest things Fort Worth has to offer?

[ret5hd]

Colonies of wild parrots!

I couldn't believe it when i heard it, so i went to see for myself.

All pictures are taken a few miles south of downtown Fort Worth, Tx.

[Joanne98]

1. Oh how cute!

[Quakerfriend]

2. Ah! They're gorgeous !

My sister has them all the time and she's near Cooper City, Fla.

[ret5hd]

3. Aren't their nests huge?

The ones we saw looked like they housed four or five familes each.

[djeseru]

4. Everman and Grand Prarie both...

...have a sizable population. The one in Everman is in front of the police station. I never get tired of watching them!

[ret5hd]

5. You know, I always assumed we were too far north...

for them to live out in the wild.

I really enjoyed seeing them.

[Ladyhawk]

6. Quaker or monk parakeets are the only nest-building parrots.

They build huge condominiums. I think there was one in Chicago that weighed, like, 300 lbs. It ended up crashing to the ground, eventually. (Yes, Quaker parakeets can live in temperate areas.) Local aviculturists scooped up surviving baby parrots and hand-raised them. (I'm writing this from memory, so you might want to check the facts, eh?)

These charming little birds are excellent talkers, but are banned as pets in many states because they can take to the wild so easily. They're illegal in California. I've only seen one in real life and he was definitely an illegal immigrant who came in with false papers as a gray-cheeked parakeet. ;)

[ret5hd]

7. well, i don't know how well these parrots talked...

but they sure sqwuaked!
As soon as we stepped out of the car, the racket started. very loud.
And the nests were huge...not 300 lbs huge i don't think, but very large.

[Ladyhawk]

12. If they're wild, yeah, they're going to squawk.

Usually only birds bonded with a person learn to talk.

I'm sure you already knew that. :) I actually just woke up and my brain is on "freeze."

I would like to observe flocks of wild parrots. I recently watched most of The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. Very little is known about the behavior of tropical wild parrots because it's so difficult to observe them in the rainforest canopy. There are, of course, species that live in temperate and even cold regions. It's a hoot to watch videos of New Zealand's keas playing in the snow. Some parrots live in dry, almost desert-like conditions, like the Senegal parrots of Africa.

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Are those *gasp* group nests? Freaking COMMUNIST birds!

Too bad the Carolina parakeet was wiped out. I don't suppose it could be rediscovered in some remote locale, like the ivory-billed woodpecker.

[ret5hd]

9. WOW!!! I didn't think of that!

Communist bird...the fifth front!

[stlsaxman]

10. Is the colony "parroting" the Republican talking points?

What are they saying??? Is that a right-"wing" media conference?

:rofl: ---"I slay me!"

[ret5hd]

11. well, i will say...

that is was a shrill cacophony that could not be understood. So maybe you are correct!

But they seemed really nice, so maybe not.

;-)

[DoYouEverWonder]

13. Parrots like this are all over So FL

The lady under me in my old building used to feed them every day. God forbid she was ever late back from church, the damn things would be squawking up a storm.

[Ladyhawk]

14. I will say this. Those are some cute pics. :D (warning: picture)

Many different color mutations have been developed in captivity. I'm partial to the blue phase. :)

[ret5hd]

15. for some reason your pic doesnt show.

[Ladyhawk]

23. I can see it, but here, I copied it to my site.

[EFerrari]

16. Large colonies in San Francisco and also in Berkeley.

Definitely pinkos. :)

[Whereweat]

21. Here in Palo Alto Ca. Too

They are a noisy bunch!

[EFerrari]

22. Welcome to DU, Whereweat.

We're nearly as quiet as shrieking parrots.
:)

[Bonhomme Richard]

17. CT has had them for years and................

they are causing a big problem for the utility companies. They build those big nest on the utility poles and they have caught fire. The companies were going to kill them but the have put that off looking for other alternatives.

[catnhatnh]

20. Seconding Bonhomme....

because although it's hard to believe,there are big colonies in both Stratford (Shakespeare Theatre) and Fairfield (St. Mary's by the Sea) Connecticut and yes- they do winter there...I was told these were "monk parakeets"...

[boobooday]

18. We had them in Santa Barbara too

The ones that got away . . .

[Imalittleteapot]

19. Saw these birds while exploring Fort Worth

several years ago. I am assuming it's the same flock. I haven't been back in years. At the time, a homeowner's fence was lined with feeders fashioned from margarine tubs.

[Gman]

24. Well, I'll be damned

Especially that far north. I could understand down in the Valley.

[AtomicKitten]

25. sooooo cool!

There's a herd (flock ?) in San Marino (So Cal) and also here in San Francisco.

Thanks for the great pictures!

[newyawker99]

26. We have them here in Brooklyn NY too.

They build huge nests on the utility posts.

[Deja Q]

27. Quaker parakeets. ILLEGAL in many states because they are like locusts.

And they make good pets ONLY if you spend hours with them each day; for they quickly lose their tameness and become hostile to their ambient surroundings. That's why most of them in pet stores readily bite until you bleed. You're part of a large flock to them.

They are equivalent to the Siamese cat; very social and are little whiney drama queens if left alone, outside of their "flock".