Wild Parrots in Whitestone, Queens, NY

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Wild Quaker Parrots have been living in Whitestone, Queens, for some years now, and the first reliable documentation of their presence there is from 1996. The parrots started out building tree nests in Frances Lewis Park below the eastern side of the Whitestone bridge, but a storm came in 2000 and dispersed them through the neighborhood. Since then they've holed up in power pole nests.

Nobody really knows how these parrots got to Whitestone. There is a large colony across the bay at Throggs Neck, and one in Pelham Bay. Perhaps the parrots in Whitestone are descendants of an early exploratory colony that made its way from JFK Airport in the 1960s. Some even speculate that the colony in Whitestone flew there from Rikers Island in the early 1970s to escape federal eradication efforts.

The fact that there are wild parrots -- even rare wild mitred conures -- roaming the skies of Queens should be a sign of Green Pride. While they may pose a headache for Con Edison and Verizon, they are a source of pride and amusement in the local neighborhood and serve as proof that Whitestone's ecology is sound. Several residents have expressed interest in installing monk bunker alternative nest platforms to house them.