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The green visitors

I had a shock on the morning of December 23, for as I looked out of my window I saw two parakeets on our feeder. I had never seen them in the wilds of our country before. Apparently they are indigenous to Australia but they have made a nice home for themselves in parts of the Manchester area and even further north. It is supposed that they were originally pets that escaped from captivity around 1970 in the London area and have slowly moved north. They are a colourful bird and a little noisy at times but I fear that they might drive away our native far smaller garden birds. (They also eat a lot!)
After seeing them for a few days running, I have not seen them here since.

Have a good day.
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20 comments

Malik Raoulda said:

Admirable et excellente capture bien partagée.
Surement que les deux perruches étaient de passage.
Bonne et agréable journée dominicale.
2 years ago ( translate )

Jaap van 't Veen said:

Beautiful bird image; they do have lovely colours.
2 years ago

Annemarie said:

Wish you a peaceful Sunday!
2 years ago ( translate )

Günter Klaus said:

Oh,da hattest du aber einen hübschen,ungewöhnlichen Besuch lieber Herbert,aber sie haben dir für deine schöne Aufnahme toll posiert :))

Wünsche noch einen schönen Sonntag,liebe Grüße Güni :))
2 years ago ( translate )

Herb Riddle replied to Günter Klaus:

Yes they were a great surprise. All our other birds avoided the feeder whilst these were on. Even our now regular greater-spotted woodpecker took a second look and avoided the feeder. Maybe they just were on a scouting trip :)

Best Wishes. Herbert
2 years ago

Ulrich John said:

Nice guests, Herb !
2 years ago ( translate )

Stephan Fey said:

I would also be surprised to see something like this in the garden. A great encounter!
2 years ago

tiabunna said:

Well captured. Unfortunately, exotic bird 'escapees' can become a problem - we have many such here also.
2 years ago ( translate )

TOZ said:

A great surprise for you Herb never seen any of them in the dales always have a camera handy nice catch.
All the best Gordon
2 years ago

Herb Riddle replied to TOZ:

As said to Günter above "Yes they were a great surprise. All our other birds avoided the feeder whilst these were on. Even our now regular greater-spotted woodpecker took a second look and avoided the feeder. Maybe they just were on a scouting trip :) " The last time we saw birds like these was when we were in Spain (Costa Blanca). I hear there are many hundreds in some of the Manchester parks. A good subject for my camera though. These were taken very quickly with my middle distant zoom and then using only the small central portion hence the noise. Glad you liked em all the same.

Cheers. Herb
2 years ago

Günter Klaus replied to Herb Riddle:

Es macht sicher Spaß,diese Futterstellen immer zu beobachten und bekommt auch schöne BIlder :))

Wünsche noch einen schönen Abend,liebe Grüße Güni :))
2 years ago ( translate )

Keith Burton said:

How lucky to see these in your garden. They seem to becoming more and more common in the UK..........but I've not seen any down south yet! They really are beautiful and stand out well against the background.

A delightful photo Herb..!!

There's an interesting article here: www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/ring-necked-parakeets-in-london-and-uk.html. if you're interested.
2 years ago

Herb Riddle replied to Keith Burton:

I am mighty glad that you liked these two visitors that I now know from your wonderful link, are female ringed parakeets. If they would have been more regular I would have prepared my camera better. The bright greens do stand out against our dark tree vegetation here. It seem that it is only a matter of time before you see them too but as large as a chicken the finches etc have no chance at all when these are near.

Many thanks for that link, of which I have learned a lot about them.

Cheers. Herb
2 years ago

Keith Burton replied to Herb Riddle:

You're welcome Herb..........glad you found the link interesting.

I hope you escaped the worst of last night's storm.
2 years ago

Leo W said:

sehr schöne Vogelportraits
2 years ago ( translate )