Exotic birds are spotted in UK
KEEP your eyes peeled for 5,000 parakeets.
I was on a whale and dolphin watch recently – life is tough in my job – and I was chatting to a couple of our wonderful volunteers.
They were excited by the fact that they were off down south to look at parakeets.
“Parakeets?” I inquired. “In a zoo?”
“Oh no, there are thousands of them flying wild in London and the South East in parks and gardens!”
The Wildlife Trust is never keen to promote invasive species making a home here, especially as these ring-necked parakeets are probably escapees from private collections, but you have to be impressed with their ability to adapt to shivery Britain.
This medium-sized green parakeet, is the UK’s only naturalised parrot and the most northerly breeding parrot in the world.
They nest in holes in trees, in gardens and parkland and are often found in flocks of hundreds of birds at roosting sites where they are very noisy.
They are obviously happy here, eating nuts, seeds, berries and fruits.
In recent years we have had sightings of single birds in Wigan and Preston, on, or close to, our nature reserves.
So don’t be surprised if you see one in your local park.
You won’t have any trouble identifying it. They are green with a long, narrow tail and a bright red bill. Males have a black throat and a thin black and pink collar, hence the name.
Obviously parrots and other exotic birds have escaped from people’s homes and survived for a short while in the wild.
We even had a budgerigar spotted at our Brockholes nature reserve over summer!
The large groups of parakeets are generally in the London area, which is why we believe they are descended to escapees as they have been popular pets since Victorian times.
And while we normally associate parrots with tropical climates, these large groups have been able to cope with cold British winters.
Experts have said that the birds only started breeding since the early 1970s and with numbers now estimated at 5,000 in the UK, they have certainly thrived over here.
The worrying thing as far as invasive species are concerned is that they may be out-competing our native wildlife for food. I would think that 5,000 parakeets would make a sizeable difference to the food supply in London’s parks.
At The Wildlife Trust we try to create habitats for native wildlife. However times – and temperatures – change so we do see different species moving in.
» ● To become a member of The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, visit www.lancswt.org. uk or call 01772 324129. For more information about Cheshire Wildlife Trust, call 01948 820728 or go to their website at cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk.