Parrots in Phoenix

[KAOSkins]

These are from my sister's back yard in Awhuatukee. There are feral parrots in Phoenix and London. Not sure why only there but it sure would be cool to watch feed everyday in your back yard. My sis says they're very vocal and of course the kids love them.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_C3ljXHxxvsc/SsS-VPHZUcI/AAAAAAAABu4/FYsPlUlKVdc/s640/IMG_2490.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_C3ljXHxxvsc/SsS-WEKCgMI/AAAAAAAABvE/wtqQg4Oxdyw/s912/IMG_2493.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_C3ljXHxxvsc/SsS-UaQxmqI/AAAAAAAABuw/W-PZoNF0hhQ/s640/IMG_2487.JPG

[MisterPinstripe]

Thats awesome...

[Predicto]

Those are African Lovebirds. Very cute, but they probably got set free because they tend to bite the crud out of their owners, even if they like them.

And, of course, time for the inevitable San Francisco connection, care of Predicto the predictable.

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/5537/markbittner.jpg (http://img94.imageshack.us/i/markbittner.jpg/)

I used to live on Telegraph Hill, and a flock of wild parrots would land on a big cypress tree right off my balcony every day at about 3:45. They made a movie about it, and you can see my former apartment in the movie. Whoo hoo.

[Heisenberg]

Those are African Lovebirds. Very cute, but they probably got set free because they tend to bite the crud out of their owners, even if they like them.

And, of course, time for the inevitable San Francisco connection, care of Predicto the predictable.

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/5537/markbittner.jpg (http://img94.imageshack.us/i/markbittner.jpg/)

I used to live on Telegraph Hill, and a flock of wild parrots would land on a big cypress tree right off my balcony every day at about 3:45. They made a movie about it, and you can see my former apartment in the movie. Whoo hoo.


That's not you is it?

[Predicto]

That's not you is it?

Heheh no. That is Mark Bittner, a hippie dude who used to feed the parrots and wrote a book about them

This is me (albeit about a decade ago when my hair was not thinning). Only picture I have on my work computer.

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2803/beach1n.jpg (http://img410.imageshack.us/i/beach1n.jpg/)

[twa]

That's pretty cool they keep returning.

I see a number of parrots,cockatoos ect,around here that I guess escaped/were released,but rarely twice.

Don't know if it's the hawks or they just move to a better neighborhood;)

[Heisenberg]

I was gonna say - you look like a crazy hippie. LOL

The second picture makes more sense since I knew you are a lawyer.

[KAOSkins]

Heheh no. That is Mark Bittner, a hippie dude who used to feed the parrots and wrote a book about them

This is me (albeit about a decade ago when my hair was not thinning). Only picture I have on my work computer.



Now thaaaat's funny! I bet I'm the only one who pictured you that way, course I cheated in meeting you. :D

I saw that movie too, it just slipped my mind. I'm guessing there are probably more places that have them. London kinda puzzles me because it's so far north. I guess the gulfstream keeps it just within their range of temps.

[Predicto]

Now thaaaat's funny! I bet I'm the only one who pictured you that way, course I cheated in meeting you. :D

I saw that movie too, it just slipped my mind. I'm guessing there are probably more places that have them. London kinda puzzles me because it's so far north. I guess the gulfstream keeps it just within their range of temps.

Actually, there are wild parrots that survive the winter in Chicago, of all places.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2323394_find-wild-parrots-chicago.html

They are very smart, so it makes sense that they would be pretty adaptable.

[Fight for ole DC]

Victims of foreclosure, perhaps? There have been many stray animals in my neighborhood the last year or so. Some get "dropped off" other simply turned loose. There is one cute little black dog that I have been feeding since last winter. He lives at the park close to my house...so sad. I'd take him in if I had room for another dog. For now, he seems to do OK in his safe places at the park and with regular meals.

[jrockster21]

There are tons of parrots in Florida, also. Haven't seen any in Texas yet...

[bcl05]

I hate to be a killjoy, but as an avid birdwatcher, I hate seeing these feral species. They often take food and nesting habitat from less flexible native species.

A classic example is the house sparrow (the default sparrow of basically every backyard and urban habitat in north america). They are a european species, and were established here in the 1850's when some dumbass englishman released 10-15 individuals in Central Park in NYC. Well, they are now the most widely distributed bird species on the planet. They have a habit of taking over other birds nests, breaking their eggs, and pushing their young out of the nest before they can fly. They have decimated American populations of many fascinating sparrows (not to mention buntings, thrushes, and wrens). The same pattern happened with European Starlings a few decades later, and more recently with the Eurasian Collared-Dove.

Stepping off my soapbox - those lovebirds ARE cute. Though, Arizona has some of the continent's best birding areas, so there is no shortage of fabulous natives too...

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

Yep, those are African Lovebirds...my sister had one. They are the worst pets ever. When they bite, they draw blood. It hurts like a mofo. I can see why they are wild....like Predicto said, the owner probably got rid of them.

[Stophovr6]

My friend had a couple of birds similar to that. I ****ing hated them.

[GoSkins561]

Interesting about the sparrows, what are some of the species in Maryland they have destroyed?

[bcl05]

Interesting about the sparrows, what are some of the species in Maryland they have destroyed?

Overall, I think the house sparrows are probably more parasitic of other bird nests than swallows. Regarding which species have been affected, really all have been. Rare stuff that used to not be includes (but not limited to - its off the top of my head):

Bewick's wren, Bachman's sparrow, Nelson's sparrow, Henslow's sparrow, Lark sparrow, Vesper sparrow, Cerulean warbler, Red-cockaded woodpecker, golden-winged warbler

All were reported by Audobon as common in the eastern US in the early 1800's, and all are rare as heck now. I know Tennessee better than MD, but looking at MD ornithology reports suggests that most of these are reported only a handful of times per year in MD.

We have a tiny area of protected meadows here where Henslow's sparrows breed - one of the last spots in the country. I feel really lucky to have seen a bunch of them - I suspect they might well be gone for good if the condo's they're planning for across the street get built..

Every spring I see our backyard song sparrows (common, but cute, native, and great singers) get their nests trashed by house sparrow thugs. I hate them.

A little googling gave this site, that talks about Bewick's wren, and the impact of introduced species:

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/bewick.asp

[bcl05]

Not to dig up an old thread (OK, I just did), but I thought this was a brilliant addition to the discussion. Sums up the craziness of birdwatching and the evils of the house sparrow. This is cut-and-pasted from a great birding blog I subscribe to:

http://www.birdchick.com/wp/2009/11/nbbs-guide-to-the-birds-you-saw/



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category: NBB, OpenSkyTags: Brown BirdNBBOpenSky
NBB’s Guide to the Birds You Saw 9
Nov22009

Sharon’s taking a much needed Blog Vacation, and I have been asked to fill in for her once again. So without further ado, we present the following helpful series for the unwilling birdwatcher.

Birdwatching: hobby for the insane?

Surprisingly, no! Even those who are merely married to a birder can learn to appreciate our fine feathered friends, albeit against your will. In an effort to help the non-birding spouse, I’ll be collecting my thoughts on birds here on the Birdchick Blog. Think of it as a field guide, except it’s a) free and b) useful.

I like birds. My nickname is Non Birding Bill not because I hate birds, but because I don’t go birdwatching (also because my wife knows a lot of Bills, and saying “My Husband” was too complicated, apparently). In fact, everybody likes birds, and knowing a few bird facts can be a nice ice breaker with people who are completely out of the loop, birding wise (i.e., sane).

The first thing you need to know is that in the city, every bird you see is a House Sparrow. Unless it’s a duck, of course. But otherwise, it’s a sparrow. They’re the small brown birds that you see bee bopping around when you’re outside. And I mean everywhere: the reason you need to learn how to ID a sparrow is that any time you see a bird, it’s a sparrow. In fact the likelihood of a bird being a sparrow is directly proportional to your certaintly that it is not a sparrow. Think you’ve got a Chestnut-sided Warbler in your yard? It’s a sparrow. Unusual hummingbird at your feeder? Sparrow. Small farm animals being carried off in the night? Sparrow.

WSBC0267Look into the face of a killer.

Sparrows are the hydrogen molecule of birds; they’re so common they make a handy point of reference, and every other bird can be expressed in terms of how much like or unlike a sparrow it is. So, if youre going to watch a bird, you need to know the sparrow.

What else do you need to know about sparrows? For starters, they’re complete bastards. Totally, completely evil birds. They don’t bother people because in addition to being evil, they’re smart, and have figured out that the key to surviving is not bothering people. So they bebop around, acting all cute and harmless and “oh look at me, I’m stealing a breadcrumb! I’m so naughty!” And then they fly off, find a bluebird sitting on a nest, and kill her by pecking her to death while she’s on her eggs. Seriously.

House Sparrows were introduced to America (”Hello, nice to meet you.”) by a dude who wanted every bird in Shakespeare to be present in America, which is just another reason to hate Shakespeare in my wife’s book. The odd thing is that while they’re over here commiting more murders than the franchises of CSI and Law and Order put together, House Sparrows are on the decline in Europe.

That, in a nutshell, is everything I know, and therefore, everything your non-birding spouse, needs to know about the evil, evil House Sparrow, who’s preferred seed mix is the blood of the innocent.