Wildlife UK Forum - Discuss the UK countryside and wildlife

The amount of parakeets in the UK is rising all the time now that they have been introduced, and it is getting more than a little worrying as the birds have no natural predators here as well as living for a very long time - 30 years or more. It's possible that they are affecting our native species through competition for nest holes, although according to the RSPB there is no evidence to support this at the moment. Does anyone think we could have another EGS on our hands?

They are great to look at but while visiting a friend some flew over and landed nearby, and I was surprised by the noise they could make. More importantly, I have also read that they could become a pest for farmers because of their love for fruit and crops.

Some parts of the media have been calling for a cull. I'm not in favour of that unless it is proven that they are having an effect on our native bird populations, but it is definitely something that should be monitored to see if problems start to arise.

Check this link:

http://invasions.bio.utk.edu/invaders/monk.html

Kingfisher

As we spent last week watching for someone's escaped African Grey I always thought that wild birds would eventually attack them.I am surprised by this & I have just had a read of the BBC website also.
I don't know how I would feel with the noise though , the sound of the goldfiches bickering over the niger seed is enough to wake me.

The Monk Parrots are quite loud. But, people love them anyway as a bit of nature in an otherwise drab, lifeless city.

Kingfisher

I would like to see Parakeets around here, even if they were noisy.

I'm surprised that they have no predators here though, you would think they would be easy targets for our birds of prey.