London Parakeets

[Stillhomewardbound]

I'm in Blackheath, South East London, and every evening, as if by clockwork we get a flock of parakeet's on a foraging trip.

They don't nest in the area and I think they may be based in the Sydenham / Dulwich area.

They are quite a sight but you have to be quick of eye to catch them as they are busy, busy, busy.


Here's a nice feature on them from 2008.

https://youtu.be/p4P_NhFlb5w

Anyone away from the smoke have them in their areas?

[umslopogaas]

Not yet, down here in the West, but I expect they will arrive eventually. They are an invasive species and a menace to our native birds because they out-compete them for food, and if I could shoot every last one I would. I've seen them in the West London area and find them completely unlovable. Hopefully the native raptors will acquire a taste for them, but alas, there arent many raptors in the area. Down here the local kestrels would find them quite tasty, I think.

[Serial_Apologist]

They don't nest in the area and I think they may be based in the Sydenham / Dulwich area.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised!

"Poor little things", I heard a neighbour say recently, "someone should phone the RSPB - they must find it hard surviving our cold weather".

[gradus]

Nor here in Suffolk-yet. We have quite enough problems with squirrels, rabbits and deer although with current lobby for the re-introduction of lynx and even wolves and a year or two back sea eagles, the parakeet seems barely worth bothering about unless you happen to be a native songbird being driven out of feeding space as the footage above suggests.

[Richard Tarleton]

I'm in Blackheath, South East London, and every evening, as if by clockwork we get a flock of parakeet's on a foraging trip.

They don't nest in the area and I think they may be based in the Sydenham / Dulwich area.

They are quite a sight but you have to be quick of eye to catch them as they are busy, busy, busy.

Anyone away from the smoke have them in their areas?

For a definitive picture of their distribution, see pp 444-5 of the BTO Bird Atlas. Breeding is overwhelmingly concentrated in the SE and in Greater London and eastern Kent in particular. The UK population in 2011 stood at around 8,600 breeding pairs. In 2003 it was estimated by Butler that the Greater London population was increasing by 30% per annum but by only 0.4 km per annum, leading to a sharp increase in density. SHB you definitely have them in Blackheath

There are some extremely scattered breeding tetrads eg in Lancashire (I think jayne lee wilson had something to say about them on the "What Birds" thread") but there seems little sign of the population exploding across the country - they remain closely associated with urban areas in the SE. In Belgium they are thought to have had a detrimental effect on populations of one hole-nesting species (nuthatch) by competing for nest sites, but this has yet to be apparent here, it seems.

There is a much wider scattering of winter records across England, excluding the SW. But they do not stay to breed.

So something Londoners have to put up with or enjoy according to taste, but yet to be a problem nationwide.

PS one for sparrowhawks or goshawks I'd have thought, rather than kestrels......

PPS I think I posted this very film last time, as well as one of Bill Oddie saying he likes them (he lives next to Hampstead Heath, where I usually see them

[MrGongGong]

Lots in Bounds Green

[Bryn]

Huge flocks to be found along the A30 between Hearthrow and Egham. Here in Braccan Heal I just see the odd one or two visiting the garden from time to time.

[ChrisBennell]

I first saw large numbers of them about 10 years ago in Greenwich Park - have also seen a small number more recently in the Savill Gardens at Windsor.

[Dave2002]

Haven't seen too many recently - bit sporadic. There were several which came regularaly to our garden last year, and the most we ever had was, I think, 8. Maybe we'll see more later on. This is outside the M25 boundary towards Guildford.

[Richard Tarleton]

Key is whether you're seeing them in the breeding season or not - sightings will be more widespread after it, and in winter. One was seen for a couple of days in Pembrokeshire in November 2014.

[burning dog]

Seen the odd one in Dorset. Perhaps the London contingent will eventually retire to Bournemouth as the climate will suit them better.

[Bryn]

Seen the odd one in Dorset. Perhaps the London contingent will eventually retire to Bournemouth as the climate will suit them better.

Here's the main distribution map for the sub-species we have in the UK:



Note that its range extends to quite cold parts of the Indian Sub-continent. It is a non-migratory species (it arrived here by human introduction, as it did to America, Australia, etc.).

[burning dog]

I was joking really ! When they were spotted locally I couldn't convince neighbours that that they were unlikely to be recently escaped pets.

[Richard Tarleton]

it arrived here by human introduction

Jimi Hendrix may have been at least partly to blame.

[Serial_Apologist]

Jimi Hendrix may have been at least partly to blame.

Not if those were gay parakeets, surely?