What's going on here? - # 167
What's all this then? This is one of hundreds of dear, sweet green parrots (offspring of an escaped pair) who now live in (plaque??) certain parts of London. Down in Petersham they are less welcome because they have taken a liking to the taste of 17th century cement that binds the brickwork and the 17th century putty that retains the window glass. The parrots (bless them, they are soooo sweet) gnaw out the the cement and putty. They love it. If you enlarge the photo (click it) you will see the jagged edges of the brickwork. That's where the parrots have gnawed the mortar away.
Bloody hell - excuse expletives, but I had to rub my eyes after reading this. Parrots in London! Global warming has come to this. I don't know if you read my comment on Nathalies latest post, but maybe what you need are some herring gulls
ReplyDeleteI don't know how many Parrots there are but there are a large number of Parakeets in london. The population numbers about 30,000 across London, and the RSPB estimates it will rise to nearly 50,000 by 2010. In the Big Garden Birdwatch 2006, the ring-neck parakeet was among the 20 most-sighted birds in London, seen in all 33 boroughs and jumping from 19th place in 2005 to 15th.
ReplyDeleteThey originate from the foothills of the Himalayas, so they don't need it to be that warm to live comfortably.
We will probaby get used to seeing both these birds as they are long lived (up to 40 years) so some have seen some very hard winters already.
Very unexpected, but you say they're all descended from an escaped pair? What a successful couple!
ReplyDeleteWhy do they go for the mortar? Any ideas?
Some sunshiny photos at Villigen today. Including one of a cereal plant.
An Australian informant (always useful) tells me that they've taken up residence in Australian towns and they do the same to the wooden slats of window shutters (rip them apart basically).
ReplyDeleteThe birds, he says, are ever hopeful of digging out insects.