Dear Readers, I have a great fondness for the ring-necked parakeets that occasionally visit the garden – they look so cheerful with their red beaks, yellow tails and green plumage, and they are as talkative, boisterous and argumentative as any London crowd on a Saturday night. A pair started to drop in every morning to eat the seed that the collared doves, woodpigeons and squirrels hadn’t already munched through.
How cute! I thought.
Then another bird started to turn up. I wondered if this was a family. The male birds have the black and pink collars, but it’s harder to tell the sex of the younger birds.
And then things got a little bit out of hand…
At one point today there were six parakeets. The ones that couldn’t get to the seeds started to tentatively explore the suet pellets – this is slightly more of a worry as they can easily unpick the wire mesh. No harm done so far.
It’s interesting to watch the hierarchy emerging. A single parrot, or even a pair, can be seen off by a determined collared dove. We have a single feral pigeon who visits this feeder, and he went head to head with a parakeet, battering it with his wings for a good two minutes before flying off. En masse though they seem to be a match for anyone who isn’t a squirrel.
Honestly, it’s like Disneyland in my garden sometimes. There are flocks of sparrows, a small flock of goldfinches, the chaffinches are back and sometimes the jackdaws drop in, who seem to have learned how to get at the suet. There are starlings and wrens and the occasional blackcap. All in all it’s a very exciting time in the garden, and I couldn’t be happier.
Of course, come the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch (26th to 28th January this year) and I’ll be lucky to see a magpie, but never mind, I shall enjoy the company that I have now.
BTW, I didn’t get a photo of it, but a blue tit was pecking away at the flowers on my Mahonia yesterday, and I’m wondering if anyone else has noticed this behaviour? I know that they are known to actually pollinate Crown Fritillary flowers in the UK, and it would be interesting to know if they’re turning to other garden plants for a nectar boost at this time of year…
Mahonia flowers, minus blue tit.
Even though these birds are exotic, what fun to have them visit your garden!
I know! Do you get any members of the parrot family, Anne? I know that there are ring-necks in Africa but not sure if they come as far south as SA….
I do enjoy watching the parakeets that seem to be everywhere. In 2019 I remember seeing a huge flock flying over my head while I was enjoying a hotel breakfast outside in Marseille. Closer to home, Hyde Park is full of their cheeky antics and, even, even closer to home for me, I sometimes see and hear them near to the Botanical Gardens in Edgbaston on my walk into work. I know that many do not like invasive species but, if the niche fits, there isn’t really very much that we can do. I, like you, find the ring-necked parakeets quite charming.
I love them, I must admit. So cheeky!
I miss parakeets since I moved to the South West. Always love seeing and hearing them when I’m back East. Yes – I had mahonia in a previous garden and saw both blue tits and blackcaps pecking the flowers in the winter.
Ah, glad it’s not just me! I love how adaptable birds are….
It’s quite the party at your feeders 🙂