Photo Essay: The Miracle on Avenue I

Wild Monk Parrot on Brooklyn's Avenue I preparing raw materials for nest renovations.

Several months ago, BrooklynParrots.com began recieving distressing reports from residents along Brooklyn's Avenue I, who noted that the parrots which had been living for many years in pole nests along the avenue had mysteriously disappeared. Brooklyn Parrots.com's essay, Where Have All The Parrots Gone? documents this very unhappy event.

What could have befallen the flock? West Nile Disease? Bird Flu? Wild Parrot Poachers? There were no answers; only eerie silence and brooding despair

But a week, ago, things changed again. Two pairs of monk began renovating two formerly abandoned nests, and others began gathering in trees along Avenue I, busily measuring and cutting twigs. The avenue, once as quiet as a tomb, soon echoed with parrot squawks and twig-snapping, and the sidewalks below the poles at 26th Street and 28th Street soon became littered with fresh-chewed twig cuttings.

Why had the parrots reappeared in January? Were they they same ones who had lived there before or new ones from elsewhere in Brooklyn? Again -- there are no answers -- only speculation; one credible hypothesis being that the Avenue I nests may have become infested with parasites, which caused the monks to spend some time in another location to give time for the bugs to die off.

Whatever the reason, Avenue I is a place to parrot-watch again, and in this photo-essay, we take a look at some of the renovation activities. Click on any photo for an enlarged view.

Work quickly, little birds: breeding season is just a few months away and your chicks deserve a nicely refurbished playroom!


Avenue I's parrot pole nests are visible on the left side of this photo.



The nest on 27th Street is one of two formerly abandoned nests that are now being renovated.



This proud couple spent much of Saturday morning positioning twigs on the 27th Street Nest.



This little guy posing on a wire over Avenue I has a nice forked twig in his beak. But where did it come from?



The answer is: across the street (look carefully and you'll see a bunch of parrots hanging out in a pine tree).


Monk parrots don't use tools to cut their twigs, but their beaks are as versatile as a swiss army knife.


Peek-a-boo! I'm a parrot in a pine tree -- is it too late to send anyone a Holiday Card?



Two parrots in the pine tree were using the lush protective cover to conceal some amorous preening activities, even though breeding season is still several months away.


The amorous male did not appreciate our Parrot Paparazzi recording his preening session. "What the #$*&*@ is the matter with you guys -- can't I get one minute alone with my wife?" he complained. We withdrew our cameras, fearing a tirade of Brooklyn-accented insults.



This monk looks awfully content to be back on Avenue I. It's a great neighborhood, but more importantly...


...because the parrots in this Brooklyn 'hood always "watch each other's backs!"