Post by redditchlady on Oct 4, 2006 15:00:35 GMT
Thanking Lisa from our Beastwatch Files forum for this one 
Parakeets bring touch of Africa to Surrey skies
You hear them before you see them - the screeching 'kee-ak' sound of a
swooping 7,000-strong flock of exotic parakeets that have taken over a
small corner of Southern England.
Their shrill cacophony drowns out the tuneful song of our more
familiar garden birds and is driving local fruit growers and farmers
to despair as they devour the crops for miles around.
Parakeets come home to roost in Surrey
The exotic flock is roosting in a collection of tall poplar trees at
Esher Rugby Club in Surrey, and there are complaints that the birds -
which originate in Northern India but live in a variety of habitats in
Australia, Asia, Central and South America and parts of Africa - are
driving away domestic birds.
And, feasting mainly on fruit, nuts and seeds, the noisy parakeets
have been descending on crops for miles around.
Ulrika Perry and her husband Peter have grown fruit in their Surrey
garden for more than four decades, but in the past three years they
been beaten to the harvest by parakeets before their crop is even ripe.
"When we first moved here we didn't mind the odd parakeet. But not any
more,' Ulrika said.
"They come every day and rip off the tops of our trees, tearing away
the fruit before it's even ripe and leaving nothing but a huge mess in
our garden. They have torn apart our birches and our pear trees have
been obliterated.
"The parakeets are pests. They are worse then foxes and seem to just
increase and increase. But short of shooting them, I don't know what
can be done."
Others complain about being awoken by hordes of parakeets screeching a
dawn chorus at 4am. "They are so noisy', said Margaret Harris. "They
really are a hazard and I worry about their increasing numbers."
But the parakeets also have their fans. They provide such a colourful
contrast to the muted greys and browns of domestic sparrows and
finches, that many in the area have grown to love them - and plans to
lop their roosting trees at the rugby club have sparked controversy.
Sue Dickinson, who lives next to the club with her husband Tony and
their three children, said: "The parakeets are noisy but they are also
fascinating and we really love them, especially the children. It would
be a great shame to see them go."
Greg Popper, who moved from America to Surrey six years ago, said:
"The parakeets are fantastic. They really bring colour and diversity
to Britain. They add a touch of the exotic." The number of parakeets
in the wild has exploded since a handful of birds escaped from
captivity after being brought to this country as pets.
They have multiplied over a succession of mild winters and there are
now thought to be as many as 20,000 living wild in the South East. If
they carry on increasing at their current rate of 20 to 30 per cent a
year, their population could easily increase to 65,000 by the end of
the decade.
Roughly the size of a collared dove, the birds get their name from the
rose-coloured ring around the throat and have a bright red beak and
distinctive pointed wings.
Their arrival in Britain remains in the domain of urban myth. Many
believe them to be descendants of a pair of parakeets that escaped
during filming of The African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and
Katharine Hepburn, at Shepperton Studios in 1951.
Others claim they were released from aviaries damaged during the great
storm of 1987, while some people even credit rock legend Jimi Hendrix
with freeing the first pair of parakeets into the British countryside.
Last night Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the RSPB, said: "There are
some real agricultural problems surfacing where these parakeets are
destroying a lot of the crops in Surrey and surrounding areas. As a
nation we have been welcoming to non-native species but studies have
shown that more extinction of our own wildlife is brought about by the
influx of such species - they are a huge threat.
"Although parakeets are exotic, it is getting to the point where
action is going to have to be taken.
"People will have to embrace the concept that we must make some tough
decisions in the future - for the sake of the economic welfare of our
agriculture and the conservation of natural wildlife."
Daily Mail 23/9/06
www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=4066\
86&in_page_id=1770
Parakeets bring touch of Africa to Surrey skies
You hear them before you see them - the screeching 'kee-ak' sound of a
swooping 7,000-strong flock of exotic parakeets that have taken over a
small corner of Southern England.
Their shrill cacophony drowns out the tuneful song of our more
familiar garden birds and is driving local fruit growers and farmers
to despair as they devour the crops for miles around.
Parakeets come home to roost in Surrey
The exotic flock is roosting in a collection of tall poplar trees at
Esher Rugby Club in Surrey, and there are complaints that the birds -
which originate in Northern India but live in a variety of habitats in
Australia, Asia, Central and South America and parts of Africa - are
driving away domestic birds.
And, feasting mainly on fruit, nuts and seeds, the noisy parakeets
have been descending on crops for miles around.
Ulrika Perry and her husband Peter have grown fruit in their Surrey
garden for more than four decades, but in the past three years they
been beaten to the harvest by parakeets before their crop is even ripe.
"When we first moved here we didn't mind the odd parakeet. But not any
more,' Ulrika said.
"They come every day and rip off the tops of our trees, tearing away
the fruit before it's even ripe and leaving nothing but a huge mess in
our garden. They have torn apart our birches and our pear trees have
been obliterated.
"The parakeets are pests. They are worse then foxes and seem to just
increase and increase. But short of shooting them, I don't know what
can be done."
Others complain about being awoken by hordes of parakeets screeching a
dawn chorus at 4am. "They are so noisy', said Margaret Harris. "They
really are a hazard and I worry about their increasing numbers."
But the parakeets also have their fans. They provide such a colourful
contrast to the muted greys and browns of domestic sparrows and
finches, that many in the area have grown to love them - and plans to
lop their roosting trees at the rugby club have sparked controversy.
Sue Dickinson, who lives next to the club with her husband Tony and
their three children, said: "The parakeets are noisy but they are also
fascinating and we really love them, especially the children. It would
be a great shame to see them go."
Greg Popper, who moved from America to Surrey six years ago, said:
"The parakeets are fantastic. They really bring colour and diversity
to Britain. They add a touch of the exotic." The number of parakeets
in the wild has exploded since a handful of birds escaped from
captivity after being brought to this country as pets.
They have multiplied over a succession of mild winters and there are
now thought to be as many as 20,000 living wild in the South East. If
they carry on increasing at their current rate of 20 to 30 per cent a
year, their population could easily increase to 65,000 by the end of
the decade.
Roughly the size of a collared dove, the birds get their name from the
rose-coloured ring around the throat and have a bright red beak and
distinctive pointed wings.
Their arrival in Britain remains in the domain of urban myth. Many
believe them to be descendants of a pair of parakeets that escaped
during filming of The African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and
Katharine Hepburn, at Shepperton Studios in 1951.
Others claim they were released from aviaries damaged during the great
storm of 1987, while some people even credit rock legend Jimi Hendrix
with freeing the first pair of parakeets into the British countryside.
Last night Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the RSPB, said: "There are
some real agricultural problems surfacing where these parakeets are
destroying a lot of the crops in Surrey and surrounding areas. As a
nation we have been welcoming to non-native species but studies have
shown that more extinction of our own wildlife is brought about by the
influx of such species - they are a huge threat.
"Although parakeets are exotic, it is getting to the point where
action is going to have to be taken.
"People will have to embrace the concept that we must make some tough
decisions in the future - for the sake of the economic welfare of our
agriculture and the conservation of natural wildlife."
Daily Mail 23/9/06
www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=4066\
86&in_page_id=1770
