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.
The wild Monk Parakeets of Ridgefield look to be doing well.
We stopped by to check in on them last week and found more than two dozen 
sunning themselves in nearby trees. It seemed a bit odd to see a parakeet on a tree with dead leaves, but that is the way it is in this region.
Karen Riede of the town's Environmental Committee says the Monk Parakeet population is around 30– as it was last year about this time — and that the birds are perfectly acclimated.
"They all grew up right here, and this is the only home or environment they know," she says.
The birds have been in Ridgefield, Edgewater, Fort Lee and other spots for so long that there is a strong likelihood that this beautiful, colorful (if a tad loud) bird will be to the state list.
A prevous post on the parakeets is here.
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.
