Daily News Covers NY Parrot Refuge

The New York Daily News published a nice write-up of the Maspeth Bird Haven, a parrot refuge run by Barry and Gayle Schwartz. Barry has been a great friend to the wild Quaker parrots that live in the New York area and was a key player in the successful rescue of 50 baby quakers in Throggs Neck back in June. Three cheers for the Daily News for running this story, which includes a photo gallery of some of Barry and Gayle's avian charges.

Breaking News: Mysterious Wild Conures Appear (Again) in Queens!

A wild conure munches on a cherry blossom in Queens' Hillcrest Estates, 4/22/07. Photo by Kathy Forrestal.

It's a miracle that happens but once a year: brightly-colored wild conures -- charismatic parrots very similar to those featured in Mark Bittner and Judy Irving's Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill -- alighting on fresh-blooming Cherry Trees in Queens' Hillcrest Estates. The parrots, loudly squawking, quickly devour the delicious blossoms, delighting the residents for a few days, and then, just as quickly, take to the skies again for parts unknown.

We still can't fathom how these wild conures, which can't build external nests like New York's resourceful wild Quaker Parrots, manage to survive winter in New York City. Not a soul seems to know where these parrots live, where they forage, or where they came from. What we do know is that these birds appear, mysteriously, for one week in April, and then vanish. There's barely time to catch a picture of them, but Kathy Forrestal did just that, proving that the parrots aren't just a seasonal hallucination.

Thanks to Jackie Forrestal of the Hillcrest Estates Civic Association, for sending us this remarkable news. Last Spring, Jackie and Kathy got pictures of these very same wild conures.