Came downstairs this morning to find three parakeets
feeding from my newly installed,
cat-proof, feeding system
We always used to have birds in the garden. They were quite safe from our old cat Spooky, but since Patsy and Purdy arrived I've not dared put out food for fear of our hunters getting them. However I have devised a chain from the wall of the house stretching across to the trellis, which is high enough for the cats not to be able to reach it....
These exotic looking visitors are Rose Ringed Parakeets that have escaped from captivity and created colonies in several larger cities in Holland. The groups can reach up to 5000 birds !! England has a fair share of them too, mainly around the South London area, but also in Ramsgate and Margate. Here is a global distribution map:
They originate from the foothills of the Himalayas, so are used to cooler climates and adapt well all over Europe.
There are a number of sometimes fanciful theories as to how parakeets came to make their home in the UK, such as the urban legend that the birds escaped from a container at Heathrow airport, or from Shepperton Studios in west London during filming of The African Queen in 1951 !!
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