NEW For Valentines' Day; The Brooklyn Parrots I LOVE YOU Mug For Sweethearts

Show your special someone how you feel with the Brooklyn Parrots I LOVE YOU Coffee Mug For Sweethearts, redesigned for Valentines' Day 2012.

This sturdy hot beverage mug shows a pair of lovable Wild Brooklyn Quaker Parrots (AKA Monk Parakeets) showing their heartfelt affection for each other.

Please order now to make sure you get in time for Valentine's Day.

Thank you for supporting BrooklynParrots.com. Your purchase of the Brooklyn Parrots I LOVE YOU Mug For Sweethearts helps keep Wild Parrot Safaris in Brooklyn FREE TO THE PUBLIC forever.

Wild Parrots Occupying Harlem!

Wild Parrots Spotted in Harlem, January 14th, 2012

Almost a year ago, I wrote of the remarkable appearance of Wild Parrots in Harlem. Just today, I received word from a correspondent in Harlem that these parrots (the same kind that have lived here in Brooklyn for many years) made a noisy appearance in Harlem yesterday, as this photo shows. The parrots appear to be dining on leaf buds, which is their favorite thing to eat when the weather gets cold.

The obvious question is this: where are these parrots nesting? Nobody seems to have the answer, making this story a definite Manhattan Mystery. What we do know is that these wild Quaker Parrots (AKA Monk Parakeets) have attempted for many years to establish a foothold on Manhattan Island, and have been repeatedly rebuffed by the authorities. Perhaps this time round the Wild Parrot occupation will survive any such attempts to evict these intrepid creatures.

Video: The Snowboarding Crow

Crows are among the most intelligent of birds, have long been believed to be representatives of the Spirit World, and it appears that they like to have fun as well, as this remarkable video, evidently shot in Russia or elsewhere in Eastern Europe, attests.

Crows aren't particularly popular with Brooklyn's wild Quaker Parrots, because they are such artful thieves. When crows show up, the parrots form an effective defense perimeter and ward them off, fearing that they will steal the parrots' eggs.

Wild Parrots Begin Rebuilding Their Nest Complexes at Brooklyn College

Brooklyn College's athletic field renovation project has been massive in scope. You can see the new light towers (which replaced housing the old parrot nests) on the left.

Several months back, I wrote an article about how the plan for Brooklyn College's ongoing athletic field renovation project took account of the wild parrots living there and made provisions for their future housing.

This past Saturday, I had a chance to inspect how the work was going and how the parrots are faring. All four poles have been replaced, so the parrots are temporarily homeless. Fortunately, the new platforms are in place and the parrots are actively inspecting them and appear to be ready to begin work. Others are seeking temporary shelter in the nooks and crannies of the new athletic facility. The spaces here are too small to support any large scale nests, but they do provide shelter against the elements.

Some have worried about the parrots being driven off by all this work. Monk Parakeets (AKA Quaker Parrots) are very territorial creatures so they will typically wait out such a disturbance and rebuild when things calm down. I am very glad to report that the birds are actively checking out the new platforms and appear ready to commence nest reconstruction. It will take a while for the birds to restore normalcy to their domain but I am confident that they will be able to do so before the next mating season commences this Spring.

I am grateful to Brooklyn College for their diligence in planning this project around the parrots, and will file another update on this project's progress next month.

The new light poles have special steel platforms installed for the parrots. These platforms will serve as the bases for new nest complexes.

The old wild parrot nests are being carefully preserved for study.

Next Wild Brooklyn Parrot Safari: Saturday, February 4, 2012

What are wild parrots doing in Brooklyn? It's a long story! (photo credit: Stephen Baldwin)

Attention all Urban Parrot fans: the next Wild Brooklyn Parrot Safari will happen on Saturday, February 4, 2011, at 11 AM. All please gather at Brooklyn College's Hillel Gate, which is at the intersection of Hillel Place and Campus Road.

Please e-mail me if you want to attend. Note: there is no rain/snow date. for this trip. I ordinarily do not cancel the tour unless the forecast is for sustained inclement weather in which birds will not fly.

Wild Parrot Safari (Brooklyn College): 11:00 AM to 12:30PM
At 11 AM, we'll inspect the Brooklyn Parrots' "Ellis Island." Their large nests around the soccer field represents the first major colony in Brooklyn. The site is easy to get to via public transportation. Just take the Number 2 train (Seventh Avenue IRT) to the end of the line, walk one block Southwest on Hillel Street past the new Starbucks, and look for the main Brooklyn College date. The tour begins at the entrance at 11:00 AM sharp. Allow some extra time, given that the MTA is doing lots of construction/train re-routing on weekends. Driving instructions are available at Brooklyn College's main Web site. Parking is fairly easy to come by in the neighborhood. If you're late, please call me: I'll give you directions so that you can meet up with us if the tour is already in progress.

What to Bring/What to Wear
Please bring a photo ID (this is required by Brooklyn College Security). Bring binoculars and a camera. We'll be exposed to the outdoors so bring a hat/sunscreen if you have sensitive skin. Please feel free to wear anything except bright orange. For reasons that science has yet to explain, Monk Parrots freak out when they spy anything orange.

This Tour is Free, But the Parrots Are Hungry!
The Wild Parrot Safari is free - if you wish to help your hungry urban feathered friends, bring some good bird feed and other treats. Finch food or millet are always welcomed by our hungry urban "peeps."

See you in wild, exotic Brooklyn!

Steve Baldwin, Webmaster, BrooklynParrots.com
steve@brooklynparrots.com

Wild Parrots in UK Get a Break

Tireless work by pro-wild parrot activists in the UK to save the remaining wild Monk Parakeets (AKA Quaker Parrots) from eradication has been rewarded with action by the locality of Hertfordshire to cease eradication efforts by DEFRA if these efforts occur on local land. Activists have also prepared a report, which you can download, meant to counter claims by DEFRA that these parrots need to be wiped out because they threaten crops, the electrical infrastructure, and other species.

A new web site, http://parakeets.effigacy.co.uk/, has been created for interested parties to download this report.

A Little More Music From Occupy Wall Street

More Music From Occupy Wall Street

Spent most of Sunday at Occupy Wall Street; here's a clip of Paul Stein, myself, and friends doing Paul's wonderful Occupy Wall Street Song.

Naturally, there are hundreds -- if not thousands -- of "Occupy Wall Street" songs out there now, but Paul's song is, to my knowledge, the only convincing Klezmer song about OWS.

And what would a global movement for social justice be without a healthy dose of Klezmer?

Had The Great Honor of Marching With Pete Seeger Last Night

BrooklynParrots.com is a non-political blog, but Steve Baldwin, its founder, has lent his support to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Steve had the great honor on Friday night of marching with Pete Seeger and thousands of citizens from outside Symphony Space, on 95th Street, to Columbus Circle. Here's a clip that shows Steve, with Paul Stein, performing "Occupy Wall Street," written by Paul, who Steve met last week at OWS. By the way, Steve wants to give a shout-out to the NYPD, who kept things friendly and orderly as this spontaneous, mobile demonstration made its way down Broadway. They deserve our thanks for making sure we all were able to exercise our First Amendment rights and arrived safe and sound.

UK Wild Parrots Get Temporary Reprieve

The U.K. Parrots currently in jeopardy are the same kind we see in many cities in the U.S.A.

The wild Monk Parakeets (AKA Quaker Parrots) of Borehamwood, UK were granted a temporary reprieve in late August when permission to shoot them on public land was withdrawn by local authorities in response to a campaign to save the wild birds. Unfortunately, quite a few parrots have already been shot; according to Simon Richardson, one of the campaign's leaders, the population is down to just 15 now.

This site covered this issue back in June. Thanks to everyone who signed the online petition, which now has more than 2,000 signatures. Please sign it if you feel that shooting these wild parrots -- the same kind we have in Brooklyn -- is wrong.

The movement against the killings of these wild parrots isn't just happening in cyberspace; this past week a demonstration was held on the Isle of Dogs, where some of the parrots live. The demonstrators were heartened by the the victory in Borehamwood and plan to address the local Concil in November about the issue.

Wild Parrot Conservation Part of Brooklyn College's Athletic Field Renovation Plan

The Brooklyn College Athletic Field, due for renovation, is home to many wild Monk Parakeets (AKA Quaker Parrots), who nest in the light towers.

The NY Daily News is covering the very happy news that Brooklyn College is taking extraordinary care to protect the wild parrots living there while the college goes ahead and renovates its athletic field. Notably, they've earmarked funds to makes sure that the parrots will continue to have platforms on any new light poles put up on the field, and they've also pledged to do the work at a time which will not disrupt the parrots' breeding cycle or expose them to bitter cold weather.

Brooklyn's own Eagle Newspaper also covered this happy event.

I am really overjoyed that Brooklyn College is taking these steps. The wild parrot colony at Brooklyn College is one of the biggest and healthiest in the whole New York area, and it is, of course, where I do my free monthly "wild parrot safaris" for the public. So thanks to an enlightened adminstration, it seems like the wild parrots of Brooklyn will be able to call Brooklyn College their home for a long time to come!

Here's a short video I shot a couple of years back showing the parrots in action.

Off Topic: Music (In Central Park With The Meetles)

Once a month, I lead free public tours for the public so that folks can see the wonderful wild parrots in Brooklyn. Our next "Wild Parrot Safari" is October 1 and I hope you can join us! When I'm not out chasing the parrots, you'll find me in Central Park, where I play guitar and sing with a wonderful group of musicians who - while no longer "Spring Chickens," plays the music that we grew up with - especially Beatles music.

Here's our gang last week in the park, performing "The Ballad of John and Yoko." From left to right we find myself (Steve), then Matt, Rob, Naomi on drums, and Barry on lead guitar. Thanks to David Belgrave for getting this track down on his Flip camera.

In Our Hearts Forever

Memorial honoring Brooklyn firefighters lost September 11, 2001, Keystone Park, Brooklyn. Photo by Steve Baldwin, date 9/9/2006.

Corpus Christi, Texas: Major Wild Quaker Parrot Hot Spot

While the focus of this blog is the Wild Quaker Parrots (AKA Monk Parakeets) of the greater New York area (including Brooklyn, Queens, and New Jersey), these parrots also live in many other cities, including Corpus Christi, Texas, the eighth largest city in the Lone Star State.

This past Sunday, the Deseret News ran an illuminating story on the Corpus Christi Quakers, who evidently nest only a short distance from Corpus Christi's many oil refineries. Public opinion seems to be favorable toward the roughly 20 wild parrots residing in Corpus Christi. They nest in palm trees, and have so far refrained from building nests in any critical electrical infrastructure.

City of Harlingen, Texas Considers Ordinance to Protect Wild Parrots

Harlingen, Texas, is a bird-friendly city that will be host to the 18th annual Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival this November. Harlingen is also home to a great number of wild parrots these days, and, as reported in the Houston Chronicle, the City is now taking steps to protect them. Let's give a big hand to Harlingen for helping these parrots survive in the wild!

More Off-Topic Music From The Elementary Penguins

After last week's Wild Parrot Safari, I headed over to Central Park to join forces with The Elementary Penguins. Enjoy!

"Parrot" Noir in Brooklyn

Nice article by Cullen Gallagher, who writes for the Pulp Serenade Blog, about our most recent Wild Brooklyn Parrot Safari. Cullen plays up the intriguing "noir" factor surrounding the wild parrots' appearance in Brooklyn. This article is illustrated with photos with highlights from the Safari.

You Can Help Save Endangered UK Quaker Parrots!

If you're a regular reader of BrooklynParrots.com, you know that wild Quaker Parrots in the United Kingdom have been singled out by DEPRA for extermination. In fact, secret trails were conducted in 2008 to perfect the lethal methods to be used in the forthcoming mass killing of these parrots. UK taxpayers were saddled with a 37,000 pound bill for these test killings, and apparently DEFRA wants another 90,000 to continue performing what one critic has deemed "a gung-ho ethnic cleansing of an alien species."

Simon Richardson, who lives in Borehamwood, is now challenging the government and has asked me to spread the word about his online petition protesting the proposed mass killings of these harmless, intelligent birds -- the same kind that we have in Brooklyn.

Please take a moment to sign Simon's online petition.  And thank you -- from endangered wild parrots everywhere!

Off-Topic (My New Band, The Elementary Penguins, in Central Park)

Just a quick shout out about my new band, The Elementary Penguins. We play in public spaces in New York and yester found us in a nice shady meadow in Central Park. Now I can play, sing, and birdwatch all at the same time! Web site at elementary-penguins.com. Best, Steve Baldwin

RED ALERT: UK TO BEGIN EXTERMINATION OF WILD QUAKER PARROTS

DEFRA, the Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, is launching what it terms an "eradication" program directed at Monk Parakeets (AKA Quaker Parrots), according to the UK publication The Guardian. This is a terrible precedent, which, if it happens without opposition, will certainly be used by those wishing to purge the U.S.A. of these wild parrots to carry out similar plans.

Please contact DEFRA to state your opposition to these plans. You can call their phone number, which, outside the UK, is 44 (0) 207 238 6951, you can e-mail them at webmaster@defra.gsi.gov.uk, or you can send them a letter via post to:

Defra
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR


I fully agree with Andrew Tyler, who is quoted in the Examiner article as follows: "Branding other species as vermin or intruders is intolerant and selfish. The danger is overstated. We should stop the importation of these birds which are sold as commodities and endure lives of boredom in cages. It's not surprising they want to escape. If we are serious about coexisting with other species, we have to concede them territory."

Special thanks to Paul of the QP list for letting us know about this situation.