Intro & Info

[Featherly]

Hello everyone and everybirdie,

I am a parrot owner of 3 for more than 10 years (these same 3, but prior to that, we had birds in the family over the years).

Okay, so I live in Houston, TX. I am an older female.

I subscribe to various facebook groups... several months ago, I joined a "wild birds" group on facebook. This group consists of many bird lovers, including "hunters" as well as predator birds (wild buzzards, eagles, raptors, etc).

I am enjoying this group every much, but I am here to tell people on here, that I came across a post of some Amazon parrots down in south Texas that are flying free. The photos they posted had several beautiful, otherwise healthy amazon parrots that were likely someone's pets.

I have photos of only 2 of those amazon parrots, but I heard from many other members in that group that these amazon parrots flock there on a regular basis. One member even claims that there has always been 4 or so around there, but recently (in the Month of December 2016) there has been more than he has ever seen at that location.

I was granted permission to post the pictures of those 2 parrots in that particular thread that I read ... So, if you would like to see them, send me a message. If there is demand for it, I will publicly post the photos, but I don't want people to be upset or have false hope...sometimes all of these birds look alike, ya know? LOL

That's the main reason why I joined this group, but not the only reason. I hope to interact with many folks in the near future.

I am the owner of 3 birds, (small medium and large).
Macaw (ruby hybrid)
Amazon (orange wing)
Quaker (regular green variety).

+ + (sorta resembles them )

Hope everyone is having a great Holiday Season,
Christina

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you!

 

[Allee]

Welcome to the forums, Christina! Thank you for posting about the wild parrots near Houston. It isn't hard to imagine that escaped pets have joined the flock. It would be amazing to see a lost parrot reunited with his or her family. Best of luck to everyone involved.

 

[Scott]

Welcome Christina, love your introduction!! Would love to see pics of your flock!!

Larger parrots seem adaptable to the great outdoors given a reasonably benign climate. Wouldn't be surprising to learn some have reproduced over the years, yielding some truly wild offspring.

 

[Featherly]

Howdy Flboy

 

[Featherly]

Hi Allee,

Nice to meet you... Actually these birds are not in Houston...they are in South Texas. There's a park in Brownsville that is very popular both by people and these amazon parrots. (I worry about them)...Just wishing, hoping, that some of their owners are matched with them...although they could be use to the outdoors by now...There are far too many predatory birds out there for a hand-raised parrot to be ...at least in my mind...sure, after years of being out there I'm thinking they might be okay...However these are tropical birds. My birds are very sensitive to temperature changes... it'd be great if I thought otherwise. : |

 

[JBassset]

There are something like thousands of parrots that live in San Francisco. The book/movie The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.

They're mostly Cherry Headed conures but there are a few others mixed in for spice.

It's important to remember that while we think of them as pets, they really are wild animals and will adapt if the climate is suitable and there's an appropriate diet in the area.

 

[Featherly]

There are something like thousands of parrots that live in San Francisco. The book/movie The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.
(I know of the movie you speak of. But only by summaries & some clips here and there). I would like to put more emphasis on the "wild" variety. The birds that escape from our homes, that were once pets, and were hand-raised...I do not view them as wild. Sure they have instincts and in nature anything and everything will attempt to thrive...yet I am not speaking about the wild varieties.

They're mostly Cherry Headed conures but there are a few others mixed in for spice. *yup*

It's important to remember that while we think of them as pets, they really are wild animals and will adapt if the climate is suitable and there's an appropriate diet in the area.

I totally understand what you are saying...and when there are days that I feel helpless and hopeless I tell myself that. I tell myself that these birds will do just FINE out there...and then there's a celebratory event in which fireworks, or various celebratory events are...and I know in my heart that not every bird out there has a fighting chance. ~ Those are the ones in which I am referring to.

I own Seaward who is a very old Orange Wing Amazon. He has been re-homed at least 5 different times that I know of. He has an "open band". I believe that he was caught and then brought over to the states in the 70s when that was legal and 'acceptable'. He also has a few missing toes and 1 eye has a cataract that I just discovered about a month ago. Birds like him don't belong in the wild at his age...but I do believe, once upon a time, he should have been left in the wild. (Of course it's really easy for me to say that now, because I've been with him for 10 years, etc). I just believe that the birds out in the wild do not survive half as long as the ones in our homes.

And lastly, if you have a missing pet bird, please do everything you can to spread the word. Hand-raised parrots don't have much of a chance out there in my eyes. Too many aggressive predatory birds out there...and harsh elements that they have to become accustomed to, with the help of other flock members, and as you stated, an environment that would support them (food-wise).

Kind Regards,
C

 

[Scott]

I completely agree! Once they are raised or cared for by humans, they belong in a sheltered environment. Nature is a trying and oft times miserable crucible that seems destined to prove the maxim of "survival of the fittest." It is also a sad reality that parrots can experience an early demise in our homes for dozens of reasons.

Our Missing Bird forum is testament to the boundless effort some exert to retrieve their beloved companions. Very mixed record of success, but not for the lack of effort. Sometimes it is just luck that reunites bird with human.