We dropped in on our Monk Parakeet pals in Ridgefield last week, and they are as boisterous as ever.
They appear to be using both the railroad bridge and the manmade nesting poles for housing — the special nesting structures were built last spring to provide housing while the bridge underwent repairs.
We counted at least 20, and there are no doubt many more.
Directions to the Monk Parakeet colony are on the left-hand side of the blog.
A bit of news regarding the Monk Parakeets of Ridgefield.
Bill Boyle of the New Jersey Bird Records Committee reports:
"At the Spring 2008 meeting [last month], the committee voted to add Monk Parakeet to the New Jersey State List. The population in Bergen County, which has been present for many years, has been growing and spreading and is unlikely to be extirpated by natural causes."
Click "Continue reading…" for the rest of his comments.
Ridgefield, in the northern part of the Meadowlands District, has several nifty attractions, from the restored wetlands of the Skeetkill Creek Marsh to the Monk Parakeets that nest under the highway bridge over the train tracks on Railroad Avenue.
But there's also the Ridgefield Nature Center, a beautiful wooded natural area comprising 5.4 acres off Shaler Boulevard by Ray Avenue.
The property was the source of the spring for the Great Bear Spring Water Co. from 1920 to 1975, at which point the land was sold to the Borough of Ridgefield.
Since then, the borough has been restoring the site, planting well-labeled native trees and plants and curtailing the invasive species. Those are labeled, too — so you'll know what to look out for in your own backyard and elsewhere.
Click "Continue reading…" immediately below for more information on the Ridgefield Nature Center.
A lot of people have heard of the monk parakeets of Edgewater or Fort Lee, but far fewer are aware of a colony in the Meadowlands, above the railroad tracks on a bridge along Railroad Avenue.
You'll hear their racket before you see them. They have been in Ridgefield for a several years, and are likely descendants of escaped birds. They're also called quaker parrots.
Read more about monk parakeets here.
