Wild parrots settle in suburbs (london)

Cork boy 55

Maybe we could introduce these to Ireland


The number of wild parrots living in England is rising at 30% per year, says an Oxford University research project. Parks and gardens in the leafy London suburbs have been adopted as a preferred habitat by birds that are native to southern Asia.
In the Surrey stockbroker belt, a single sports ground is believed to be home to about 3,000 parrots.





http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3869815.stm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZLvav3xML4

swifts need our help!

I saw a ring-necked/rose-ringed parakeet up here this week but it could have been an escapee

Mark

Mothman

I think there'd be a strong disapproval from many regular contributors here to have parrots etc here.

Note other passage from article.

....there are concerns that wild parrots could become a pest to farmers or threaten other wildlife.

Grahame Madge, spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), says parakeets are bigger and bolder than some of their native rivals - and "are quite capable of evicting other birds".

They also like fruit and he says that if they moved into fruit-growing areas, it would pose problems for farmers.

Cork boy 55

They are pretty thou
we could introduce a predator that eats them to keep numbers down

Mothman

So much of our native wildlife is pretty.

It's best not to upset the balance of nature. Once this balance is tilted, it cannot be got back easily. The repercussions of meddling with nature by introducing non native species spread far and wide.
Introducing a predator could have a disastrous effect on some native species.
Take Mink for example.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Cork boy 55 wrote: »

They are pretty thou
we could introduce a predator that eats them to keep numbers down

I really wonder if you are serious. Have you never seen pretty native wildlife? You want to introduce an alien species followed by an alien predator? Words finally fail me!

kildare.17hmr

was in the zoo today, plenty of nice parrets to look at there man! and with the new motor way you could be in dublin in a little over 2 hrs from cork;)

I think its a wind up thread for the same reasons srameen pointed out.

ThunderCat

They must be made of stern stuff to survive the last few winters. Granted London tends to be fractionally milder than most of the UK but it would be cold nonetheless. As other posters have said, it would be disasterous introducing a foreign species like that over here because it will certainly impact on native species. The locals in some of these London suburbs are actually campaining and petitioning at the moment not to have these birds culled as some of the local councils are planning. Their (councils) proposal is to shoot the birds. As for how many they wish to eradicate, I do not know.

stephen_k

Theres a good article on the effect of these birds on the native birds in gardens of londen here

cameramonkey

had parrots living near me in London. very noisy bird and a bit incongruous for the english suburbs.

recedite

I've seen them in trees around Kilmacanoge in Co. Wicklow. Interesting birds, and smart as crows.

recedite

swifts need our help! wrote: »

I saw a ring-necked/rose-ringed parakeet up here this week but it could have been an escapee

Where's that?

java30

I wonder would they survive here anyway?

recedite

I'd say in an urban area they would exploit bird tables and in severe weather use roosts near heated buildings. Being clever, they are adaptable.