Submitted by Davey_Doozer t3_yrx1ma in Connecticut
I think mostly found in Bridgeport but we all have seen these grey/green parrots in the area. They are not native but thrive here in the wild.
I have heard several stories but even according to google none are confirmed to be true.
What origin stories have you heard about these wild monk parakeets?
Back in the day the Eversource equivalent was trying to kill all of them and there were protests.
They came from Long Island.
Their nest can be huge (weight 1000s of pounds) and cause power outages.
F’ing Long Island /jk
Escaped pets from the 50s. Moved in from NY. They would nest in the massive trees at Fairfield U when I went there.
Rent for bird cages is astronomical these days. Sadly, they are now forced to live on the streets.. :(
They can be found in New York City too. The story is a shipment of them broke loose at JFK in the 60's and some made their way to CT, not sure if it's true or not.
When I lived in Queens I saw a flock of these guys fly by my 4th story window and couldn’t believe it. Looked it up and read this same story. There is a gorgeous and enormous nest on the Greenwood Cemetery entrance gates in Brooklyn.
In elementary school, I heard that they escaped from a pet store. No idea how true that is. They make their nests by the power transformers for the extra heat in the winter.
The story I heard was it’s popular in Caribbean cultures to keep birds and when there started to be an influx of people from those areas here in the 50s and 60s, they brought tropical birds with them. Some would inevitably get away and eventually they established self reproducing populations. They’ll often build nests around power transformers because they give off heat, so the power company has to occasionally take down the larger ones.
20’years ago the Bridgeport area seamed to be loaded with them and I was talking to someone recently and mentioned that you do not see them anymore and was told that they were nesting in the utility poles and burning out transformers etc and they were poisoned off by the utility company. This is just what I was told and believe it to be true but can’t confirm
Parrots attack pigeons. Cemetery in queens used parrots to keep pigeons out. May have migrated up.
This is wild. I had never heard about this until now.
same
If they put your brain inside a Parakeet, it would fly backwards.
Pop was nuts
They reproduce a lot and the climate isn't too cold anymore for them to thrive. All kinds of shit from the south are now invasive in the north. From birds to bacteria.
They are all the way through to cape cod. Their massive nests occasionally disrupt train service.
This isn't new. They were around 30 plus years ago when I was a kid.
Yes. Now they're thriving though and spreading further up the coast.
It has nothing to do with climate change. They've been here for at least 30 years.
They are proliferating and moving further and further north. Soon might be in the sub Arctic.
This isn't unique to CT. They are considered invasive through Europe and Asia as well because of the pet industry. Of course originally they were tropical birds.
That's warming. I edited my post a bit to be more clear.
CT_Cryptids t1_ivw9yvv wrote
We came across this story while researching the book. It’s not clear how they originally came here, though they may have been released purposely or accidentally from captivity. In either case, their nests and social structures have allowed them to adapt to the cold weather.
https://www.ctinsider.com/living/article/Did-you-know-about-Connecticut-s-Monk-Parakeets-16352275.php