An Exotic Visitor

Parakeet
@Ronrybs (21504)
London, England
July 24, 2022 10:12am CST
I have a very occasional visitor to the bird feeder, a Ring Necked Parakeet I think. Not native to the UK, but from India I believe, there are many flocks of these birds and you can frequently hear them noisily squawking in the trees. They probably first arrived as accidental and deliberate releases and seem to have taken well to the UK climate and survive our winters. Not very often I see this visitor, but there are some flocks not far away and they seem to move around a fair bit, so he may have stopped off for a bite to eat before continuing on his way.
15 people like this
14 responses
Anna
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
25 Jul 22
Are they living in the wild? A small parrot visited my birds feeders time by time, but I think he escaped from an apartment. This is a a nice bird.
2 people like this
Anna
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
26 Jul 22
@Ronrybs It is very possible, if a couple arrive to escape, they start a colony of wild birds.
2 people like this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
26 Jul 22
Yes, we seem to have many living the free life and I suspect that they started off as escapees
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Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
26 Jul 22
@LadyDuck Yep, I am sure that is what happened and there is a lack of natural predators to control the numbers, even of such a colourful bird
2 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
24 Jul 22
It's a very pretty visitor, too! If we didn't have neighborhood cats around, I'd put out food for the birds here.
1 person likes this
DE
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
25 Jul 22
@Ronrybs That's a good idea, but what keeps squirrels from getting the bird food? We have lots of squirrels in our yard, too.
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Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
25 Jul 22
@DaddyEvil The cats at ground level. To get to the pole squirrels need to cross the garden. So far no takers!
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Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
25 Jul 22
I place the bird food on a high pole with little platforms and hooks. It is high enough that the cats can't jump and get the birds. Also, there is plenty of open space so the birds can see the cats. Mostly the cats sit on top of Mr H's house and watch the free, feathery show
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Sanjeev
@sjvg1976 (42727)
• Delhi, India
26 Jul 22
This is a parrot and is not abundant here in the country. They are beautiful creatures as you can see they have red-colored beaks. They are kept as pets here.
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Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
27 Jul 22
From the name I assumed they originated in India. I wonder if their numbers have suffered because of people catching them in the wild?
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Sanjeev
@sjvg1976 (42727)
• Delhi, India
27 Jul 22
@Ronrybs yes thats the reason their population is decreasing nowadays.
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OceanTiara
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
29 Jul 22
Such a beautiful friend to visit. I love parakeets..would he be also called a budgie?
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OceanTiara
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
30 Jul 22
@Ronrybs Yes I was thinking too.
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Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
30 Jul 22
Good one! I think budgies are a bit smaller
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Marie
@Tampa_girl7 (54714)
• United States
21 Sep 23
I think it is such a pretty color.
1 person likes this
Marie
@Tampa_girl7 (54714)
• United States
21 Sep 23
@Ronrybs Ah, that’s sad.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
22 Sep 23
@Tampa_girl7 I am sure they are about, just moved on. Their colonies have been thriving in the UK
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
21 Sep 23
Haven't see him or any others since I took that photo and now that I think about it, can't say I've heard the flocks in the trees they usually live in
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
25 Jul 22
I was always excited to see a new bird at our birdbath. We have some 'immigrants' here too, most of which become a nuisance for one reason or another. Believe it or not, kookaburras once weren't native to WA. They are tough on smaller birds but we're stuck with them now.
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
25 Jul 22
@Ronrybs They are native to the eastern states but not to ours.
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Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
25 Jul 22
Never even considered kookaburras as an invasive species. One of the unwanted benefits of globalization, I guess
1 person likes this
snowy
@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
24 Jul 22
How funny is that? You got a good shot.
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Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
24 Jul 22
I have run it through Photoshop to clean it up a bit, but they are are very flighty birds.
Judy Story
@jstory07 (148701)
• Roseburg, Oregon
29 Jul 22
That is a very pretty parakeet.
RasmaSandra
@RasmaSandra (97912)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
24 Jul 22
What a beautiful parakeet, Great shot of him,
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
25 Jul 22
Very flighty birds, so it was take your time to position the camera and then rush to take the picture!
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Vicki, #1 Creek Girl
@1creekgirl (44560)
• United States
24 Jul 22
That's really cool to see!
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
25 Jul 22
Not that long ago I wouldn't be seeing it all! They seem to have settled well in the UK
1 person likes this
MARILYN
@Marilynda1225 (91013)
• United States
28 Jul 22
It's nice he stayed long enough for you to take this picture. Interesting that you have these flocks of birds coming by to visit your bird feeder
Jessica
@JESSY3236 (22199)
• United States
26 Jul 22
pretty bird.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
27 Jul 22
Don't think we have any native birds that green, so a splash of colour!
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Kandase
@Kandae11 (57233)
•
24 Jul 22
He looks so regal. I am glad he can visit your bird feeder and find food.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
25 Jul 22
There are many flocks, so they must have little problem feeding food, but nice to see him now and again
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Dawnsummer
@misunderstood_zombie (8765)
• United States
26 Jul 22
That is so cool to see this at your bird feeder. I watched a documentary one time of parrots living in places that's not their natural habitat, and one place was San Francisco.
1 person likes this
Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (21504)
• London, England
26 Jul 22
They do seem to adapt remarkably well. At one time we had Australian wallaby and South American coypu living wild over here.
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