At the suggestion of Karen Riede of Ridgefield, we checked in on the Monk Parakeets of Ridgefield last week, and it seems they are in the midst of a housing crunch.
The bridge over the train tracks by Railroad Avenue (where else?) is undergoing repairs, and workers had to remove the (eggless) nests.
Thanks to Karen, the workers did put up two nesting platforms for the parakeets but they were not yet interested in moving in.
In fact the roughly two dozen parakeets were just hanging around the vicinity, apparently waiting for (and hoping for) the workers to finish. When that will be is unclear. (Stay tuned!)
Tomorrow: Laurel Hill Raven Update
1.5.11...1:30 pm...dumont,,,a flock of about 25 monk parrots descended on our feeders and stayed a short time...ive never seen them so close and they really are beautiful...unfortunately there are some feral cats about and after the parrots caught two or three sightings...they took off for parts unknown...happy new year
Posted by: john tercek | January 05, 2011 at 01:49 PM
The nominate subspecies of this parakeet is 29 cm long on average, with a 48 cm wingspan, and weighs 100 g. Females tend to be 10-20% smaller but can only be reliably sexed by DNA blood or feather testing.
Posted by: jumping stilts | May 29, 2010 at 02:20 AM
Hi Dayna,
Thanks for your concern but the Monk Parakeets have regrouped and are back in the area patiently waiting for the bridge repairs to be over, which might take a few more weeks. They are attempting to re-establish their nests under the bridge which may present a problem because of the work that still needs to be completed. I continue to monitor their activity and remain in communication with the NJDOT and the contractor. Special thanks to Joe Casimiro, from Power Concrete Co. for building the 2 nesting platforms, and Atef Saleh from the NJDOT. Both made every effort to humanely deal with the Monk Parakeets, and to Alison Evans-Fragale from the Edgewater Parrots group for her guidance and help.
Karen Riede
Posted by: Karen A. Riede | April 07, 2010 at 04:19 PM
I've been travelling under the bridge on Railroad Avenue to work for over 12 years now and have enjoyed the sites and sounds of the Monk parakeets. During my lunch hour I would frequently get a “fly-by” of a flock of these gorgeous birds. Since the removal of the nests in late March I haven't seen or even heard one Monk parakeet! Where have they gone?!? I hope they were able to find substantial shelter from the rainy and cold weather days that followed right after the removal of their nests and that they were able to survive! Has anyone seen any sightings?
By the way, thanks Karen for suggesting the nesting platforms! I was pleased to see that there was an attempt to give them a place to set up nest; too bad they don't seem to take a liking to them...yet. :(
Posted by: Dayna | April 07, 2010 at 01:49 PM