I will never forget the first time the wild monk parakeets introduced themselves to me back in August of 2006 . That morning I had been working out in my gardens and had gone inside for a short break when I heard some loud, raucous, bird squawks comming from outside. I went to the back of my house and stood on the porch looking up into the trees, following the sounds of the high pitched chatters to the top branches of a mullberry tree. And there I was captivated by one of the most eye and ear- catching beauties I have ever seen or heard.

 What I saw was four wild monk parakeets dangling from a tree branch .Their feathers were a shimmering lime green with pale grey on the neck and forehead. And their vibrating, vocal, tones echoed melodious, music throughout the whole neighborhood. The regular song birds and other critters of the habitat even stopped what they were doing to observe the new visitors . The parakeets put on an acrobatic show for us which included one of them hanging upside down by one claw to pluck a berry and then climbing back up to the top side of the branch to feed it to its companian. But unfornunately they only stayed for a few minutes before moving on, echoing throughout the habitat as they left.

Since I moved to this area of south Texas I have seen alot of birds and wildlife species that I hadn't even known existed , but I had never seen a wild parakeet. I actually thought at first that they were parrots because of the way they used their claws to grasp things and to eat with. And I thought that they may have been someones escaped pets because I had never heard of any reports of parots or parakeets in this territory. I did some research and found out as much as I could about them , and I was hoping that I would be lucky enough to see them again, and maybe even catch a photo of them.

Shortly after that I started hearing and seeing them hanging out in the trees at the edge of the cotton field across from my house. They would be in a small flock of up to six. Then before long the flock had grown into about a dozen and since they have just kept gradually increasing in numbers. My most recent count as of January 5, 2008 is up to 46 now. That is how many I have caught on tape at one time but there is actually a few more than that.

I have used great caution while observing or filming them and always follow the the birding code of ethnics. The last thing I would want to do is disturb these birds or make them feel threatened in any way. I have visited one of thier nest sites a couple of times and was able to catch some short video footage, mostly from inside my car since the tree that this nest sits in is located right at the corner of a residental property with two main roads running right beside it. This makes it easy to observe them without disturbing them.

There has been reports of several parakeet nests in palm trees around town, but the one that I have visited is a huge community nest that is in a date palm tree about 4 blocks from my house. The nest sits a little over half way up to the top of the tree and is one of the most magnificant constructions of nature I have ever seen. They are still building on it but we estimate it to be about 15 feet wide and 3 to 4 feet deep. It's unique because most parot type species dont live in nests made from twigs. In fact, monks are the only ones that do. Other parots and parakeets are cavity dwellers, living inside holes.

There is a utility line than runs right by the tree that the parakeets are nested in and I have seen them perched up on it with long twigs hanging down from thier beaks or claws , pausing there long enough to view the perfect spot to place their contribution to the community project, then dissapearing down into the inner makings to deliver it. Starting nearest to the bark and working thier way to the outside of the tree they have woven small branches and twigs together in between the fronds of the palms. And they seem to be real experts at this.

The first time I saw the thier nest they didn't even seem to be aware of my presense because they were preoccupied with a battle that they were insuing with a small flock of Eurasion collared doves that were trying to hang out in the tree . The parakeets seemed intent on not sharing their territory and about 20 or more of them started streaming out of two lower exits of the nest making a bee line right towards the doves . Loud angry sqwalks of the parakeets filled the air , followed by grumpy coos of the doves, as the parakeets surrounded the doves and then started making quick darting dashes all around them, some even darting right into them. I am pretty sure the doves could tell they weren't welcome there and it didn't take for them long to take flight and move on with the parakeets following right on thier tails until the doves reached a nearby poplar tree.The Parakeets then returned back to their nest.

 I have seen them sipping the morning dew from leaves and from the crannys in between shingles of rooftops. During the day they spread out into small groups and dangle through the tree tops, eatting the lichens and other goodies. If they are not chattering , (which they do almost constantly), they can become almost invisable in the green foilage because they blend in so well, but I can usually tell where they are by the sounds of the discarded twigs and seed shells hitting the ground beneath them. In the winter months when the trees aren't bearing fruit , they find other food resources from some of the different types of bird feeders that are hung through out our little town. These birds are being concidered a nuicance in some places around the world, (see a  lengthy artical on these birds from the Institute for Biological invasions). But so far I haven't heard any complaints from any one here. On the contrary everyone I have spoken to about them are pretty excited to be able to have these unique visitors in our town.

We swap stories of the humerous antics of these birds. Like one pair that was spotted hiding under the football feild bleachers. They had snuck way up high and were hiding in a corner , smooching away. As if they were couple of love struck teen agers necking in the bleachers. ( how romantic)  Often times the Parakeets are the main topic of folks conversations around this small town of barely over 2,000 people. We are a bird friendly town that welcomes all of our feathered friends !

Couple caught smooching

 36 parakeets  hanging out on the line

Thier masterpiece !

One of the many entrance holes to their home 

Unique angle while preening shows the blue wingtips

holding a twig, looking for a good spot to put it

Getting a morning drink from the rooftop

 hanging in the treetops

Happy birding adventures to you all !

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