Tag: conure

where to see wild parrots in the united states

a lot of people believe that they have to travel to parrots’ native ranges to see them in wild flocks, but there are lots of feral colonies of parrots established across the u.s.! these flocks are descended from released or escaped pet birds, so yes, they may be slightly different from native flocks in their own range, but it’s still a unique experience to see them outside of captivity.

new york:

  • quaker parrots have established feral colonies throughout ny. a common viewing site is green wood cemetery. you can sign up for tours to see the parrots here.

illinois:

  • harold washington mount park, chicago is home to a flock of quaker parrots.

new jersey:

  • quaker parrots can be seen in veteran’s field park, edgewater.

conneticuit:

  • quaker parrot flocks are scattered throughout ct. fairfield university has lots of them and is a good viewing point.

washington:

  • quaker parrots live in seward park, seattle.
  • there is also a flock in yacolt, washington.

california:

  • possibly the most well-known birds on this list are the wild parrots of telegraph hill, san francisco. this is mainly a flock of cherry-headed conures. more information on them can be found here.
  • there is a large flock of indian ringnecks in bakersfield, ca. more information here.
  • long beach has a flock of half-moon conures. more information here.

hawaii:

  • honolulu, hawaii has a fairly large flock of amazon parrots. more information here.

florida:

  • the grounds surrounding baptist hospital, miami are home to quaker parrots, mitred conures, white-winged and yellow-chevroned parakeets.
  • there is a flock of nanday conures on pompano beach. more information here.

texas:

  • white rock, dallas has a large flock of quaker parrots.
  • brownsville has a flock of red-crowned amazons. more information here.

should parrots be kept as pets?

i’ve seen a lot of posts debating whether or not it’s ethical to own parrots, and i just thought I’d put in my own two cents.

if you asked most (reasonable) people who loved tigers if they’d keep them as a pet if they knew they wouldn’t be able to hurt them, you’d likely get a resounding no. why? there’s plenty more reasons besides their strength. tigers need miles and miles of space. they have food requirements that are hard to meet. they need to climb and explore and play. they need to be able to hunt, and use their natural instincts.

if you asked people who loved parrots, most wouldn’t hesitate to say they’d like them as a pet – despite having very complicated needs as well.

we underestimate parrots because we view them as ‘controllable’. they don’t pose a significant risk to us, so we don’t have the same fear of them we do of big cats or other animals we deem ‘exotic’. if it can’t kill us, it’s okay to put in a cage.

(most) parrots naturally fly miles every day. even the biggest, most enriched outdoor aviary is nothing in comparison to what these birds would naturally have. most caretakers also don’t have the resources for these kind of things (i know i could only dream of having something like that for my parrots).

no matter what research you do on your bird’s diet, you probably can’t provide for them what they’d eat in the wild. fruits and veggies are good, but likely not close to what they’d eat in the wild. even when we provide them with seed mixes, they’re a totally different composition of seed than their natural diet.

we can never provide parrots what they should have. ultimately, we should have never taken parrots from the wild. the English budgie is the only truly ‘domestic’ parrot. the rest are essentially birds that have kept their wild nature, but having been kept as pets, can never be ‘returned’ to the wild.

this doesn’t mean don’t adopt a parrot. at all. i think adopting a rescue parrot is a great thing to do. can you give a parrot what they should have? no. but you can strive to do the best for them, and you can give them so much more than they’d have waiting to be adopted at a rescue. there’s nothing wrong with birds adopted from breeders in themselves, and plenty of bird breeders are compassionate people who love birds, but i’d hope you would at least look at some adoptable rescue birds or birds that need to be rehomed before purchasing one.