Is PSE&G The Most Parrot-Friendly Utility Company in the U.S.A.?

Like other utility companies serving customers in regions of the U.S.A. where wild parrots now fly free, New Jersey's Public Service Electric & Gas must occasionally remove nests built by the parrots on electrical infrastructure. But PSE&G has demonstrated extraordinary sensitivity towards both the parrots and the folks who like them, as was demonstrated in a recent e-mail exchange between Alison Evans-Fragale, of EdgewaterParrots.com, and representatives in its Overhead Construction Palisades Division.

This exchange concerned the fact that the nest teardowns scheduled to occur in March and early April (an ideal time when it is both warm enough for de-nested parrots to survive but before their annual breeding cycle begins) could not be performed. Instead of simply doing the nest teardowns later in the Spring (when there would be major damage to eggs in such nests), PSE&G agreed to wait until some time after the babies have fledged (which usually occurs by late summer).

If you're a regular reader of this site, you know that I have written some harsh words about other utility companies whose wild parrot control policies have been heavy-handed and harsh. But PS&G has proven it has a heart by listening to the wildlife community, moving toward best practices, and forging a path that I am confident will lead to a situation of improved coexistence between parrot and man. In a world where money too often wins out over kindness, PSE&G deserves praise by all who value our free-range urban parrots.

Video: NJ Parrots at Bird Feeder

I got an e-mail from a Fort Lee resident today mentioning that he got some good video close-ups of a gang of about 12 wild New Jersey parrots helping themselves to a tasty meal from a bird feeder. These parrots likely hailed from Edgewater. Enjoy!

Wild Pizza-Eating Parrots Receiving More Attention From Scientists

Wild Parrots on Brooklyn's Bedford Avenue enjoying a slice of Brooklyn pizza.

I'm happy to say that at least one of my photos showing Brooklyn's wild Quaker Parrots eating pizza has been selected to appear in a forthcoming textbook on Urban Wildlife Issues. Apparently, the fact that Myiopsitta Monachus (AKA "Dem Green Boids") has successfully adapted to the availability of world-class pizza in both Brooklyn and New Jersey is being taken very seriously by evolutionary biologists.

I am delighted that this remarkable behavior is finally receiving the academic attention it deserves.


A wild New Jersey parrot competes with a local starling for a particularly choice crust of New Jersey-style pizza.

Wild Parrots in New Jersey Need Your Help!

I'm reposting this from Alison Evans-Fragale, a great friend to the wild parrots that live in New Jersey.

Please folks -- it only takes a minute to send an e-mail message or make a call to one of the NJ reps listed below (many of whom already support the wild parrots but won't move without hearing a chorus of public support for our remarkable avian friends) :


To All Friends of the New Jersey Wild Parrots:

Time is running out for Bill S1768, which seeks to de-list Monk Parakeets (aka Quaker Parrots) from New Jersey's list of potentially dangerous species. There are only two dates left in this session for the bill to be heard: December 3rd and January 6th! If it is not heard, the birds' status as "pests" will remain unchanged, meaning they can be eradicated at any time and that their humane treatment is not ensured. It would also mean that we would have to start the legislative process all over again, beginning in the committees.

I have it on good authority that the bill may be heard, but the Senate Environment Committee needs to hear from us to make it happen.

Please take a minute of your time and send a letter to the Senators, whose names and contact info are listed below, and ask them to post Bill S1768 for a hearing.

---

Here is a sample letter you can copy and paste:

Dear Senator __________,

As a resident of __________, I urge you to post Bill S1768 for a hearing, and cast your vote to de-list Monk Parakeets from the potentially dangerous species list.

There is no evidence supporting their place on this list, and they bring many American citizens, like me, great joy.

As long as they remain on the list, humane treatment of the birds is not insured, and the birds can be indiscriminately killed. It is in your power to prevent this awful practice.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

__________

---

PLEASE send your letters and/or e-mail messages to:

Senator Richard Codey
Senate President
449 Mount Pleasant Avenue
West Orange, NJ 07052
Phone: (973) 731-6770
Fax: (973) 731-0647
E-Mail: SenCodey@njleg.org

Senator Bob Smith
Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee
216 Stelton Road, Suite E-5, Piscataway, NJ 08854
Phone: 732-752-0770
Fax: 732-752-1590
E-Mail: SenBSmith@njleg.org

Senator Stephen Sweeney
Vice-Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee
Kingsway Commons
935 Kings Highway, Suite 400
Thorofare, NJ 08086
Phone: (856) 251-9801
Fax: (856) 251-9752
E-Mail: SenSweeney@njleg.org

Senator John Adler
1916 Route 70 East
Suite 3
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003
Phone: (856) 489-3442
Fax: (856) 428-1358
E-Mail: SenAdler@njleg.org

Senator Andrew Ciesla
852 Highway 70
Brick, NJ 08724
Phone: (732) 840-9028
Fax: (732) 840-9757
Email: SenCiesla@njleg.org

Senator Henry McNamara
191 Godwin Ave.
2nd Floor
P.O. Box 68
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
Phone: (201) 848-9600
Fax: 201-848-0378
E-Mail: SenMcNamara@njleg.org

Your letters and calls count! The Senators need to hear from you (even if you do not live in NJ) to determine if this bill is important to their constituents and other states with populations of wild Monk Parakeets, so please make the effort to contact them! Send an e-mail, a letter, a fax, or call today--before it is too late! Your voice matters!

Please forward this info to anyone you think may want to help.

Thank you, in advance, for your kind efforts to save Edgewater's wild parrots.

Alison Evans-Fragale RN, MSN, CFNP,CLNC
Founder
Edgewater Parrots.com
Phone: (201) 735-0076
Fax: (201) 763-0087
alison@edgewaterparrots.com

Death of a Wild Parrot

One thing I usuallly don't talk about is the fact that I occasionally find dead wild parrots on my frequent journeys through their habitats in the Northeast.

I usually try to avoid this subject: if I see a dead parrot on one of my tours, and there are kids in tow (as there frequently are), I usually mutter that "death is a part of life" and try to move on as quickly as I can to where I want the focus to be: on the big wide fields where there's lots of life, light, and green-winged flight.

I don't like Death, but that doesn't stop it from happening. On Sunday, I went out to Edgewater, New Jersey, because I wanted to see the big flock of New Jersey parrots that never fails to cheer me up.

Of course, Death had other plans, because I was only there a few hours before Death showed up and forced me to make a choice. Death came in the form of a lovely little wild parrot who came down with the big flock into Parrot Park. I noticed that one of his little feet was stiff: I'd seen this before in Edgewater, which does not lack for environmental hazards (there's at least one large EPA Superfund in Edgewater and environmental problems are well-documented in its neighboring towns).

Whenever you see a wild parrot flopping around with a stiff foot, it's a surefire sign of lead poisoning. Lead is an invisible killer, and there seems to be enough lead in the environment in Edgewater to kill plenty of birds (this is the third wild parrot I've run across in Edgewater with obvious signs of lead poisoning).

I could have just walked away and that would have been it. Another dead parrot had been seen earlier in Parrot Park and it was plain that something bad was happening in Edgewater. But I decided to do what I could, so I easily captured this little guy and Mike Trachtenberg, of Edgewater's 07020.com, who happened along earlier, produced a small shoe box in which we placed him. It's illegal to bring any wild parrot to a vet in New Jersey so I persuaded Mike to drive me to the ferry at Point Imperial to take him across the Hudson River to Brooklyn.

I didn't have the financial resources to bring my ailing friend to The Animal Medical Center, in Manhattan, which charges $1,000 before its staff will even see a sick animal. Instead, I wanted to bring him home to Brooklyn, and do what I could to make his last hours more pleasant than they would have been in New Jersey, where he would have probably been nailed by a hawk before sunset.

We floated across the river together on the ferry, traversed 42nd Street, and then descended to the BMT N train. I checked him every five minutes and he looked OK. We heard music from the Andes that musicians played at the Times Square station and then I started to cry, because I knew that he was likely hearing this kind of music -- the sweet flute music of his homeland -- for the first and last time.

We crossed the Manhattan Bridge above the sparkling waters of the harbor. My sick friend made a few hopeful Quaker sounds as we passed under Brooklyn, home of his grandparents, site of his species' initial appearance in North America. We made it back to Bay Ridge and I finally unboxed him. He wanted to climb up the walls but I dissuaded him from this idea: he was just too weak. I made a place for him on the carpet using a cardboard box with a towel inside. I put out food and Gatorade in the top of the shoe box. He really wanted to sleep, but I stroked his head, hoping that he'd somehow perk up. He did rouse, once or twice, but his eyes wanted to close, and I didn't push it.

Lots of people happened to call me during these hours, and I mentioned that I had on my hands a very sick bird. My mother reported that my sister, who suffered a second nervous breakdown last week, might be doing better. I heard from my ex-wife, who is unable to convince my daughter, who is suffering a mysterious chronic cough, to see a doctor. I called my daughter, and made her promise to me that she would go to a clinic, even though she has no insurance coverage. I promised to pay for whatever it would take to get her well, even though I have no money myself to pay for this. Finally, I went to bed, but not before checking on my sick wild parrot.

He was still alive, sitting on the carpet in the little nook I had built for him, head turned around and buried in his wings, as if in sleep. I stroked his head and his eyes opened. I told him "It's OK if you die, but I hope that you live, because I need a friend. As long as you need me, I'll heal you, and if you get better, I'll bring you back to Edgewater, and you'll be free again."

I went to sleep early, around nine, and turned out the lights. Around 10:30, I woke up, and looked for him. He had crawled from his nook over to my sleeping bag, as if he wanted to say goodbye, but I could tell that he was gone. His little body was still warm but it was clear that Death had won. I placed him back in the little nook that I had built for him and stroked his head.

There was nothing more that I could do. I could curse the town of Edgewater, which doesn't seem to care that lead and other poisons are leaching through its every mortgaged pore. I could curse the whole damned system, which makes it illegal to help a wild parrot in New Jersey, or the chemical companies, which just don't care that they're poisoning the planet, or the real estate barons building New Jersey's "Gold Coast" on deadly, poisoned land. But the only thing I did was stroke my friend's head one last time, saying five times over, "I'm sorry," before collapsing in tears.

Tomorrow, this long night will end, the sun will rise, and the parrots will flock again. I will bear myself off in a series of antiseptic steel tubes to my job on Long Island, and I'll probably not think of what happened today much. But here, right now, in the middle of the night, it's all I can think of. If my wild little green friend had lived, my life would have been a little brighter, and I would have seen this miracle as a sign from God that all would be redeemed.

But things don't work out this way, at least, most of the time. The poisons that we place in our world will last for centuries. The species that we are extincting won't come back. Humans will eventually wake up to the fact that lead, and uncountable other poisons in the air and water, are slowly and silently killing us. This will only occur once people begin to topple and fall, palsied, like my little green friend, unable to even raise themselves to eat.

My little green departed friend was one of those "canaries in the coal mine" and I really hoped he would make it. His death will only be marked here. Nobody, including the media, and especially the politicians, whose livelihoods are supported by the commercial poisoners, will make a peep about it. He will have died in vain, as so many of us do.

Maybe that's what I'm really crying about.

Epilogue 9/24/08: When I re-read this account almost a year after writing it, I am struck by how it seems that the death of my little green friend was a harbinger of great tragedies that would soon tear my life apart. Three months after this incident, my mother committed suicide; three months after her death, my long-suffering sister did the same.

My family is gone now but I still visit the wild parrots whenever I can. It will take me years to make sense of these losses but there is something about the parrots' improbable existence here that gives me hope, and hope is exactly what I need to weather the long storm of grief before me.

WNBC: Parrots Rule New Jersey Town

Lily Jamali is an intern with WNBC.com and she shot and edited a terrific video report on the famous Wild Quaker Parrots of Edgewater, New Jersey. It includes nice shots of the parrots, some quick interviews with some local parrot fans, and even some stunning shots of a marauding Red-Tailed Hawk. This video is currently on WNBC.com's web site: the URL is http://video.wnbc.com/player/?id=111458

Prayers for NJ Governor Corzine

N.J. Governor Jon S. Corzine was badly injured last night in a terrible car crash on the Garden State Parkway. Governor Corzine's adminstration has been friendly to the wild parrots that live in Edgewater, N.J.; please join us in wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

Video Clip: Wild Parrot Pizza Party!

This past Saturday, BrooklynParrots.com and EdgewaterParrots.com conducted a joint inspection tour of the impressive wild Quaker Parrot colony in Edgewater, New Jersey. Lots of great folks turned out, and I made a short video with highlights of this latest "wild parrot Safari." Like any good safari, it finished up with pizza (which the parrots love). We even had a special guest - a beautiful green Amazon parrot - who attended lunch with the gathered wild parrot enthusiasts.

New York 1 was on hand, and has posted a good article on its Website about the trip, and about the current effort to remove the Quaker Parrot from New Jersey's list of "potentially dangerous" species.

Like all of the video clips posted here, this video will be incorporated into our ongoing video documentary on wild Quaker Parrots in the U.S.A.

Video Clip: The Wild Quaker Parrots of Edgewater, New Jersey

Our film crew (consisting of one middle-aged human and three well-trained Quaker Parrots) was active over the weekend. On Saturday, we were in New Jersey, and were graced with cold but beautiful weather that let us shoot many elements which will be included in our forthcoming Wild Feral Parrot Epic. The resultant clip runs just under 5 minutes: it includes:

1. Views of several types of wild Quaker Parrot nests seen in New Jersey.
2. Views of the Quaker Parrots, conversing, flocking, and catching the winter sun.
3. Assorted winter snuggling (it was COLD on Saturday!)
4. Classic scenes of the Quaker Parrots fighting each other (you thought the Brooklyn Parrots were pugnacious: the Jersey Parrots are ferocious!)
5. A scene in which the Quaker Parrots' feeding is interrupted by a warning siren.
6. Close-ups of Quaker Parrots performing construction tasks.
7. Quaker Parrots eating snow, a wintertime delicacy which must be one of the true pleasures of any charismatic avian Argentinian expatriate living in the Northeast.

The arrival of wild parrots in Brooklyn is fairly well documented. But the appearance of parrots in the Garden State is highly mysterious. Did they fly from a barge? Break out of the Sea-Land Terminal located near the Lincoln Tunnel? Or bust out of a crate at Newark Airport, stopover at a cemetery in Hoboken and move to Edgewater in the 1990's? Everybody in Jersey seems to have a theory, and someday the truth may out.

Enjoy the incredible wild Quaker Parrots of Edgewater: these hardy urban parrots have made Edgewater a must-see place for anyone interested in wild parrot conservation today! (This clip, like just about every clip we upload, will be making its way into the forthcoming Brooklyn Parrots documentary film).

Field Notes: Wild New Jersey Parrots Crave Pizza

Two wild parrots in New Jersey inspect pizza distributed in their environment.

Wild Quaker Parrot watchers have long known that the parrots that live in Brooklyn have a passion for pizza. Would the same unusual craving affect the parrots living in New Jersey? To answer this question, pizza was distributed in Edgewater's Parrot Park by researchers from both the Brooklyn Parrot Society and EdgewaterParrots.com.

(Click on any photo for an enlarged view).


After the pizza was discovered, we noticed the same peculiar expression of bliss on the Jersey Parrots' faces that had been previously been observed in Brooklyn.


The presence of pizza attracts a local starling, who is clearly interested in the distributed treat.


A tug of war ensues between the starling and the parrot.


The starling is clearly not pleased that this monk parrot's grip on the slice was stronger than his. Fortunately, there is plenty of pizza to go around for both birds.


The pizza clearly had an energizing effect on the parrots.


On this December day, the extra nutrition provided by pizza clearly made these parrots' construction chores easier. Here, a strong monk installs a heavy piece of lumber in a pole nest undergoing renovations.


Coordinated construction operations conducted by the parrots can be witnessed throughout the day in Edgewater.


Watching these parrots wolf down the pizza made us hungry, so we went off and got some for ourselves.

Photo Essay: The Big Flock

Wild parrots, wheeling in the sky, catch the sun in Edgewater, New Jersey, December 3rd, 2006. (Click on any photo for an enlarged view)

As you probably know, I'm partial to the wild parrots that live in Brooklyn, because they are the direct descendants of the original psitticine escapees that audaciously claimed freedom by busting out of Kennedy Airport in the 1960's. But I'm also a big fan of the wild parrots which live in New Jersey, and I'm consistently amazed whenever I'm out there, because New Jersey hosts what is most likely the biggest flock of wild parrots in the whole Northeast.

How big? Well, I counted at least 75 parrots flocking, and I'm sure there were more in the general vicinity. I mean, at times these parrots filled the whole sky (and you should have heard the shrieks: it sounded like a world ending (or beginning)!


New Jersey's wild parrots like to hang out "on the waterfront." In this photo, at least 70 parrots forage just yards from the mighty Hudson River.



Sometimes, you'll find so many parrots settling in a small tree that the tree seems to bend over.


Unlike their Brooklyn cousins, New Jersey's wild parrots like to build nests in trees. At least seven nests are visible here, in Edgewater's "Parrot Park."


"The Big Flock," is always in a constant state of commotion. Hawks nesting in the Palisades like to prey on the parrots, making quick reflexes and good communication essential for survival.


When the Big Flock takes off, you're likely to forget that you're in the Garden State, and fantasize that you're standing in an exotic parrot-laden rainforest in South America.


The Big Flock flies high, fast, and with breathtaking precision. They have to maintain a high degree of group cohesion in order to drive off the birds of prey which go after them.


Graceful in flight, statuesque, and speedy, the wild Quaker Parrots of New Jersey are certainly one of the weirdest, most wonderful wildlife spectacles you'll ever experience in the Garden State.

If you're interested in learning more about New Jersey's magnificent wild parrots, I have more info and photos on them in the following articles:

Monk Parrots Invading New Jersey Beaches(June 2006)
Wild Parrots in New Jersey: Some Recent Photos (June 2006)
Wild Parrots on the Hudson (April 2005)

To learn more about events in Edgewater, check out EdgewaterParrots.com, run by Alison Evans-Fragale, and 07020.com, run by Mike Trachtenberg.

Wild Parrots in New Jersey: Some Recent Photos

New Jersey's Incredible Wild Parrots Take to the Air in Edgewater's "Parrot Park."

Note: If you enjoy these photos, please check out Monk Parrots Invade New Jersey Beaches, which shows these parrots frolicking by the shore!

I'm a bit down this weekend. I had planned to do a tour of Edgewater's famous parrots on Sunday but it just didn't happen. I hope to do a tour soon and will advise you of such trips on this site. As always, these these trips will be free to the public. In lieu of conducting an actual trip, I've uploaded some previously unpublished photos I took of these charming parrots in the past few months. These pictures can't possibly substitute for seeing them in person, but they should give you a taste of the wild parrot wonders you'll see in Edgewater. (click on any photo to see an enlarged view).


There are many good spots to view the wild parrots of Edgewater; one of the lesser known locations is in the little park next to its City Hall building. There's a public pool there, and even during months when the pool is not in operation, the parrots often gather to take baths in water that pools in the tarp placed over the pool. Here, a family of three prepares to do some bathing.


As mentioned, this is a public pool. Parrots, sparrows, pigeons, and starlings are welcome.


A sparrow splashes merrily as two puffed-up parrots take a dip.


Edgewater's "Big W" tree is one of the city's prized parrot-watching spots. Here, two parrots recreate (somewhat noisily) on a Saturday afternoon.


There's always a lot of raucous activity at the "Big W" tree. Here, two parrots struggle over a particularly choice twig. The struggle seems a bit peculiar, given that twigs aren't exactly scarce in Edgewater. Is this a serious struggle or just a fun game of tug-of-war?


One parrot triumphantly seizes the twig; the other seems to say "just wait until next time, buster!"

Three other parrots sitting on lower branches seem to be laughing at the way the twig-pulling match turned out.

This photo isn't too interesting, until you magnify it. This little parrot is wearing a leg band, which means he or she was born in captivity. But Monk Parrots are illegal to sell in New Jersey! So where did this bird come from? Well, probably from New York, where Monk Parrots are legal to sell(but only if they wear leg bands.) This parrot, who either escaped from or was abandoned by his human owners, clearly heard the "call of the wild" and flew across the Hudson River to rejoin his wild cousins. This little champ, a truly "feral" parrot who's reverted to his or her natural instincts, seems to fit right in with the "wild ones" of New Jersey.Six New Jersey wild parrots demonstrate their amazing ability to fly in close, ground-hugging formation. They remind me of the amazing acrobatic jets in the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels Demonstration Squadron.

Monk Parrots Invading New Jersey Beaches!

New Jerseyans have been "going to the shore" on weekends since the dawn of time, so it's only natural that on a beautiful day in June, New Jersey's wild monk parrots would do the same.

Last weekend, I found myself in the quiet hamlet of Edgewater, New Jersey, a place I visit on alternative weekends to broaden my parrot-watching horizons beyond Brooklyn. My first destination upon arriving by bus was Veterans' Field, a place known to be a site frequented by foraging monk parrots. After searching in vain for such parrots on the lawn areas, I settled onto a bench by the Hudson River to ponder my next move.

Suddenly, I heard remarkably parrot-like sounds emanating from the rocky beach just a few feet from my bench. I crept closer, camera armed and ready, in High-Speed Shutter mode. As the beachscape expanded in my vision, I could clearly see, among the slippery, mossy rocks, a small group of monk parrots walking on the beach, making tiny zygodactyl footprints. I began snapping pictures in quick succession, realizing that I was on the cusp of yet another significant discovery conerning the living habits of monk parrots in the New York area: just like the metropolis' human residents, in Summertime they are active beach-goers!

It didn't take me long to see why these parrots had come to this rocky beach: for food, in the form of algea which coated the rocks, and in the seaweed which had washed up on the shore, which were both consumed continuously throughout the morning hours. The parrots seemed to find both substances delicious.

Among aviculturists, the benefits of seaweed as a nutritional supplement are well-known. Rich in minerals, seaweed is both high-protein and low fat, and contains substances which can flush toxins from the body. The benefits of algae are less well known, although at least one species of parrot, the tiny Pygmy Parrot, is an algea-eater. Less is known of the monk parrot's delight for algea, although it has been reported in UK that the parrots have been seen congregating on roof gutters containing such algea.

For those seeking to experience the surreal vision of wild parrots walking on a New Jersey beach with the spectacular island of Manhattan in the background, look no further than Edgewater's Veterans Field. Here are some photos (click on a them to see an enlarged view).


For a wild New Jersey parrot, this rocky beach on the edge of Edgewater's Veterans field offers more fun than the boardwalk in Atlantic City. (If you really look carefully, you can see three small green shapes on the rocks -- they're not mossy stones, they're monk parrots!)


What delights can a monk parrot hope to find on a New Jersey beach? Well, reasonably fresh water, delicious algae and sea vegatables, and the chance to catch some rays!



Incoming parrots usually settle on a willow tree before beginning their beach-walking. Here are two which have just arrived at "Parrot Beach."


Let's see, what's on the menu today? Sea vegatables or algea? Well, both!



Seaweed is a tasty, nutritious treat for the wild monks of New Jersey, and it also has properties which can flush toxins from the body, a pretty important thing for the wild NJ parrots, who must breathe in their share of car and truck-produced pollutants on busy River Road.


The parrots are often joined on the beach by resident Canada Geese, who tower over them but are completely peaceful toward them.



This young gosling is experiencing her first Summer on the New Jersey shore, and seems to be enjoying herself.



Sometimes the beach can turn into a mob scene that seems as crowded as Whole Foods on a Saturday afternoon, as algae-eating parrots converge to take advantage of the free buffet.


Among wild parrot watching spots in the Northeast, Edgewater's "Parrot Beach" is one of the most picturesque. I shall certainly return this summer whenever I have time.

Wild Parrots in New Jersey Need Your Help!

The wild parrots of New Jersey live in a gregarious flock that has delighted many residents if the town of Edgewater, a borough just across the Hudson River from Manhattan's Upper West Side. But unlike their cousins in Brooklyn, the "Joisey Boids" live under a cloud created when the State of New Jersey labelled them a "Potentially Dangerous Species" back in the 1970's.

One of the Brooklyn Parrot Society's boardmembers, Alison Evans-Fragale, has fought tirelessly alongside Edgewater's civic leaders to reform the laws in NJ to take account of the fact that these wild parrots pose no danger to human health or other animal wildlife, and after much work, she got the NJ Legislature to introduce a bill, A1237, which provides the removal of the monk parrot from the "Potentially Dangerous Species" list. On Monday, May 22nd, in a bi-partisan triumph, Bill A1237 was unanimously passed by the full Assembly.

Within the next few days, Bill A1237 will go before the Senate Environmental Committee as Bill S1768 (see: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/S2000/1768_I1.HTM

Passage of this bill is not ensured (there are those who, for reasons of their own, find it convenient to label this gentle parrot "dangerous"). So please, if you'd like to do something nice for the wild parrots of New Jersey, please communicate your support for this bill to the following New Jersey Senators, all of whom are members of the Environmental Commitee:

Senator Bob Smith, Chair
SenBSmith@njleg.org
216 Stelton Road, Suite E-5, Piscataway, NJ 08854
732-752-0770

Senator Stephen M. Sweeney, Vice-Chair
SenSweeney@njleg.org
Kingsway Commons
935 Kings Highway, Suite 400, Thorofare, NJ 08086
856-251-9801

Senator Henry P McNamara
SenMcNamara@njleg.org
P.O. Box 68, Wycoff, NJ 07481-0068
201-848-9600

Senator John H. Adler
SenAdler@njleg.org
231 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-2421
856-428-3343

Senator Andrew R. Ciesla
SenCiesla@njleg.org
852 Highway 70, Brick, NJ 08724
732-840-9028

Jersey Parrots Win Small Victory in Trenton

I was in Trenton last Thursday with a group of fellow pro-monk parrot citizens, testifying on behalf of the Jersey Monks before the State Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. It was an enlightening experience and I am glad to say that NJ Bill A1237, which removes the monk parakeet from the list of "potentially dangerous" species, was released from the committee after receiving a unanimous bi-partisan vote. Today, the Bergen Record published a good article summarizing Thursday's events.

New Jersey Wild Parrots Need Your Help!

The feathered cousins of the Brooklyn parrots who live across the river could use your help this week. A bill has been introduced to decriminalize them in NJ, whose antiquated laws claim that they are a "dangerous pest." Please write a letter supporting NJ Bill # A1237.

Photo-Essay: The Parrots of October

The weather, finally, has turned cold in Brooklyn, and the borough's wild parrots are adjusting their behavior accordingly. In this brief photo-essay, we take a look at what life is like for a wild green parrot in a world quickly turning grey and more inhospitable with every passing day. These photos were taken in mid-October, 2005 (click on any image to see an enlargement).


A green leaf might not seem to have much nutritive value compared to the berries that used to bloom in this Brooklyn neighborhood, but this parrot seems to be enjoying his spartan meal. How these parrots digest this stuff is anybody's guess.


Two parrots perch on a steel fence near Brooklyn College's Campus Drive. Unlike humans, wild parrots don't put their summer clothes away and don sweaters and long underwear in October. They simply puff up their feathers and keep them puffed up for months at a time. The parrot on the right looks almost pensive, as if remembering the lazy afternoons and easy pickings that have already grown scarce.


October winds often bring unwelcome surprises, in the form of parrot nests destroyed by the weather. I came across this downed nest one morning in Edgewater, New Jersey, and gingerly turned it over, expecting to find injured parrots or worse. Fortunately, the "Emergency Nest Evacuation" order seems to have been heeded in a timely manner: no hurt parrots were found.


Just about every animal in Brooklyn seems hungry in October. After tossing down some bird seed, parrots, squirrels, starlings, and sparrows quickly appeared and chomped through the meal in a matter of seconds.


Squirrels aren't the only urban fauna to love acorns: these Brooklyn Parrots know where the right trees are, and will often come to hunt for acorns when the coast is clear.


I'm not sure what these birds are eating here, but it's interesting enough to hold their attraction. Small ants, perhaps?


"RED ALERT: Jogger Approaching!" The birds sound a noisy "group alarm" and take off quickly, as a speeding human charges by in Reeboks, oblivous to their meal-gathering efforts.


October is the first month of real food scarcity that the Brooklyn Parrots have experienced in months, and tempers often flare. The birds at the bottom of this photo are arguing about something, and the dispute might well be meal-related. Of course, they could just be arguing for the sake of arguing: this is, after, all Brooklyn!