Tag Archives: Quaker Parrots

Monk Parakeet Update

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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.

MONK PARAKEET VIDEO

  
   We shot the above video last week when we checked in on our favorite Monk Parakeet colony, in Ridgefield, in the northeasternmost part of the district.

  IMG_0051   The video is just footage of the birds hanging out on and near their nests, located on a railroad bridge in a commercial district not far from the center of town.

   They are delightful to watch, but not quite as delightful to hear — as you'll learn if you play the video with the audio up.

  The birds seem incredibly social, flitting around the area and occasionally cuddling with one another == which may explain why the Monk Parakeet on the left is gathering nesting material.

   One of the delights of seeing these birds — especially on a cold windy way — is to see their vibrant colors and think (for an instant) you are in the tropics. 

  Previous posts on the Monk Parakeets of Ridgefield are here.

  The Bergen Record's Mike Kelly did a column on these amazing birds today. The link is here.

MONK PARAKEET UPDATE

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   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 IMG_7145 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.