mitred conures are native to south america, but in the early 2000’s they established themselves in california. it’s uncertain how the birds arrive – theories range from a pet store fire that led to escaped birds to a dropped wild bird shipment in an airport – but it seems they are here to stay, as their numbers have rose from 50 in 2000 to 200-300. the biggest populations of the birds are in san francisco and los angeles. the birds even starred in the documentary “the wild parrots of telegraph hill”. there has been little evidence to show impact on native species (the conures tend to feed off of nonnative plants), and they are well loved by many locals.
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.
today's bird 