Wild Brooklyn Parrots Seek Legal Perch

Brooklyn Parrots. Image by Steve BaldwinNEW YORK -- Quaker parrots are not your average urban pigeon. With their brilliant green feathers and salmon-colored beaks, the birds are certainly worth a crane of the neck -- especially when spotted perched upon power lines in New York City, a far cry from their native Argentinian landscape.

Yet the parrots, also known as monk parakeets, are not indigenous to the United States, leaving them virtually unguarded from predators and electric companies alike.

New York City Councilman Tony Avella is hoping to provide a legal nest of protection with a resolution he is now drafting.

"I want to ask state legislators to include the parrots as a protected species, so the city can enforce the law and stop the netting that is occurring," Avella said. "And second, I want to ask the city to take all the reasonable steps so when people come across these nests they can try to relocate them, rather than just destroying them."

Monk birds build their elaborate, often large nests atop stable perches -- tree branches are considered a good bet, but electric power lines provide warmth, as well as a secure landing.

But the birds' presence atop cable and electric lines has irked some major companies, like Consolidated Edison, which say the nests can cause a drop in voltage and lead to a brown-out.

The nests have caused at least seven fires in Brooklyn, The Associated Press reported.

The immediate solution is to simply remove the nests, but the loss of habitat can have longstanding and severe impacts on the parrots.

"Removing the nests won't kill the birds right off the bat, but in the end, they will probably suffer or die," said Steve Baldwin, web manager of BrooklynParrots.com.

"Yes, they can create a nuisance, but there is a way the situation can be managed. It's not like we have to send them back to Argentina because they are dangerous invaders."

Nest removals can be conducted in a safe and fair way, parrot advocates say, but only during certain times of the year.

"There are two times during the year when we know the birds won't be harmed," explained Alison Evans-Fragale, founder of Edgewater Parrots, a rescue and advocate group in New Jersey.

"Before the breeding season, so sometime in the early spring, typically," she said. "And then, again, in mid-October, when it is not too cold, and you know there are no eggs or babies in the nests."

It is unclear how the birds arrived in New York City, where they have been tracked for several decades.

But Avella recalled one popular theory that sometime during the 1960s, a shipment of the exotic birds passed through John F. Kennedy International Airport. Somehow, the birds got free -- intentionally or by accident -- and the rest is feathered history.

There are around 500 Quaker parrots in the New York City region, Gruber approximates. Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Florida have also been known to play host to the birds.

Though not native to New York City, like many other immigrant communities, the parrots have become well adjusted to the sways of urban life.

"They are an established species here," Avella said. "And, yet, they are not protected. Clearly they are very beautiful birds that add to the environmental aspects of New York City."

Baldwin tries to show just that on the free monk parakeet watching tour he guides in Brooklyn. He says large communities can be spotted at Brooklyn College and the Green-Wood Cemetery.

The birds developed a steady following after 2003, when electric companies removed several nests from the urban streets.

"The community really exploded," Baldwin said. "I became sensitive to the fact that people really liked these parrots. They are cool, the birds are just a part of the scene."

Baldwin hopes the resolution will create more interest in more mainstream communities.

"By getting people more aware, you might make people say, 'This is really interesting, these birds are worth caring about,' " he said. "When you get the word out about some interesting creatures, it makes it a lot harder for people to do mean things."

Things like stealing the birds, which several men did in 2006. Authorities suspected that the birds were sold to pet stores, where they can ring in for several hundred dollars.

Despite their intelligence and animation, Quaker parrots do not always make good pets.

"We don't advocate birds as pets, ever," said Karen Windsor, the executive director of Foster Parrots, a rescue group and sanctuary in Hopkins, R.I.

Though Windsor says many animal care books might recommend purchasing monk parrots, the birds "grow up to be extremely territorial," she explained.

This can lead to problems if the bird becomes aggressive while protecting its owner or its cage.

But Windsor says people can't blame birds for being, well, just birds.

"These are 100 percent wild animals," she said. "When you take a baby Quaker home, you will have a wonderful, loving pet. But when their hormones kick in, that's when the territorial behavior develops."

Despite the cold winters, the monk parakeets seem to thrive in the New York City region. They wouldn't be able to, though, if they didn't have their large, warm nests to fall back on.

Baldwin and Avella hope they can retain this critical part of their environment.

"The birds are not in any danger of a declining population," Baldwin said. "As long as the public opinion doesn't turn against them, they should be able to hang on. They are very hearty birds."