Great to see those pictures which you took again Rob. I'm hoping if they are breeding now that we may get to see bigger groups of them at the allotment again this autumn.
I saw the Amazon again at the allotment at about 6pm yesterday. Hanging upside down as usual eating sunflower seeds just a few feet away from me. I hadn't even realised it was there until after I had walked straight past him and he just carried on eating. Great powers of observation - 3 feet away from large green parrot and didn't notice it.

You may be interested in this article (photos credited to me should really be credited to Debs!).

http://10000birds.com/ring-necked-parakeets-in-the-uk.htm

A friend told me they had recently seen 5 green "parrots" from their gaden on Cecil Road in Hale - the birds alighting in a large horse chestnut alongside the railway.

Not seen as much of the parakeets at the allotment recently, but saw 1 male 1 female this afternoon. Followed by 1 male early evening and the Amazon (who I've not seen for a few weeks) flew in at 7.15pm.

One finally made it to my Garden (nr St Joseph's Hospital, Whalley Range)


-- Edited by gus gem on Friday 17th of April 2009 10:23:45 AM

4 Ring-necked Parakeets plus Orange-winged Amazon in Alexandra Park for last few days.

regarding posting from your phone Tim, a thread in the discussions section would be benificial rather than taking up space on this Parakeet thread and I for one shall see you over there

Rather late post but one over Horton Road N at 11am Sun and making it onto my 'garden' list as I was standing at my front door! Tried to post this via web access on new Sony Cyber-Shot phone but it wasn't having it. Can anyone else post off their phone?

Don't know what has happened to the Amazon's manners. When ever it comes to feed at the allotment it must be on its best behaviour. It arrived on Saturday pm with one male parakeet and surprised me by landing in my apple tree just above my head to watch me top up the feeders.
One male, one female parakeet on the feeders at 5.15pm today.
I am seeing them frequently now that the days are getting longer but usually in ones, twos or threes, some times with and sometimes without the Amazon, but not the big groups that I was seeing in the Autumn.

2 R N Parakeets in Alexandra Park this morning being pursued by the much bigger Orange-winged Amazon.

it was certainly very loud yesterday (by the way, my wife has pointed out is was orange not green - colour blindness gets in the way of my birding a bit!)

what was interesting was that the parrot seemed to be trying to split up the two parakeets that were nuzzling and preening, rather than the one that was one its own - maybe frisky and jealous!

You know, you might be right. It was perched up a tree making the most incredible racket (this bird is LOUD) yesterday and I thought it was just making a fuss because it wanted to come down and feed and someone was a bit close to its feeder. Maybe it was calling for a mate. It sounded like it was trying to be heard in South America!

Perhaps it's getting frisky, spring is in the air.....

That sounds very weird. I have seen a great deal of the Amazon and Parakeets together over the last year and I have never seen any aggression towards each other. I saw the Amazon on the feeders twice this afternoon. Once on its own and once with three Parakeets. They all flew in together, fed together and flew out together. I've never seen the Amazon have a go at anything. How odd.
The Amazon has a very short tail compared with a Parakeet and what is not very evident from the avatar is the orange patches in its wings which are very obvious if it flies away with its back to you and noticeable but smaller orange sections in its tail.

Sounds like the Amazon - see Deb's avatar below

Sunny Saturday morning, 10am in Alexandra Park Whalley Range - 3 parakeets on the lime walk near the pond, two nuzzling each other, then all three being mobbed by large parrot with green tail (any ideas ?) for about 10 mins - bullied parakeets then took it out on a poor woodpecker drumming on the next door tree! Lovely spring sighting.

Pete

Gus
An Orange Winged Amazon has been seen with groups of Parakeets since early July 2008 and has been a very regular visitor to the feeders at the allotment. It hangs upside down from the top of the feeder pole to eat sunflower seeds and is also very fond of the apples which I put on the end of the pole for it. I've seen captive Orange Wings recently and I'm sure the bird I see is one of them. He (?) is a real character!
Debs

Just reviewed the Dec 9th picture of Ringnecks taken in Alexandra Park and have realized that 1 was actually an Amazon!

Comparing to the Wikipedia pictures - the small red flecks on the leading edge of the wing and the base of the tail are consistent with the Yellow Shouldered that has been reported (Unfortunately the bird firmly kept its back turned so I couldn't see face or "shoulder") though the nape seems rather gray.

Incidentally, the Ringnecks definitely have "bill all red" which might suggest subsp. borealis.





-- Edited by gus gem at 22:42, 2009-03-01

2 Ring-necked Parakeets (subspecies unknown) in Alexandra Park this morning

Just to expand on the feral status, quoting a chunk from wikipedia:

'Feral Rose-ringed Parakeets

The Rose-ringed Parakeet has established feral populations in India, a number of European cities, South Africa and Japan. There are also apparently stable populations in the USA in Florida and California, and a small but self-sustaining population in Tehran, Iran, mostly concentrated in the northern parts of city. They are also found almost throughout Israel.

The European populations became established during the mid to late 20th Century from introduced and escaped birds. There are two main population centres in Britain: the largest is based around south London, Surrey and Berkshire, and by 2005 consisted of many thousands of birds, known as the Kingston parakeets. A smaller population occurs around Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate, Kent. Elsewhere in Britain, smaller feral populations have established from time to time (e.g., at Studland, Dorset, Kensington Gardens, and South Manchester). It has been suggested that feral parrots could endanger populations of native British birds, and that the Rose-ringed Parakeet could even be culled as a result.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, there exist a network of feral populations numbering 5-6000 each in urbanized areas. In Germany, these birds are found along the Rhine in all major urban areas like Cologne and Heidelberg, Wiesbaden and in the northeast of Hamburg. Other populations are found around Paris and in Barcelona.

The specimens in these naturalized populations often represent intra-specific hybrids, originally between varying numbers - according to locality - of the subspecies manillensis, borealis, and/or (to a lesser extent) krameri along with[verification needed] some inter-specific hybrids with naturalized Psittacula eupatria (Alexandrine Parakeet).

However, in some parts of South Asia - from where the Rose-ringed Parakeets originated, populations of these birds are decreasing due to trapping for the pet trade. Despite some people's attempts to revive their population by freeing these birds from local markets, the Rose-ringed Parakeet's population has dropped drastically in many areas of the Indian subcontinent.'

This puts South Manchester on the map in an international context !

Had me going for a minute there Tim as 'Inskipp, Lindsey & Duckworth (1996) An Annotated Checklist to the Birds of the Oriental Region' gives no mention to the race manillensis. To quote a chunk of Wikipedia here they could be either P. k. borealis or manillensis. Anybody got BWP ?.

'Phylogeny and distribution
Four subspecies are recognized, though they do not differ much:

African subspecies:
(P. krameri krameri): African-ringnecked (aka ARN) Parakeet : West Africa in Guinea, Senegal and southern Mauritania, east to Western Uganda, Eastern South Africa, and Southern Sudan.

(P. krameri parvirostris): Abyssinian-ringnecked (aka Aby-RN) Parakeet : Northwest Somalia, west across northern Ethiopia to Sennar district, Sudan.

Asian subspecies:
(P. krameri manillensis): Indian-ringnecked (aka IRN) Parakeet : Originates from the southern Indian subcontinent; and has feral and/or naturalized populations worldwide. In Australia, United States, and other western countries, it is often referred to as the Indian Ring-Necked Parakeet/Parrot.


(P. krameri borealis): boreal or Neumann's ringnecked (aka BRN) Parakeet :Bangladesh, northern India and Nepal to central Burma; introduced populations worldwide in localities.

A phylogenetic analysis using DNA (see Psittacula) showed that the Mauritius Parakeet (Psittacula echo) is closely related to this species, and probably needs to be placed between the African and Asian subspecies. Consequently, this species is paraphyletic.'

There are 4 recognised subspecies of Psittacula krameri: krameri, originally Senegal, E Guinea to W Uganda and S Sudan, S Mauritania (where named in 1769); parvirostris CE Sudan through Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti to NW Somalia; borealis NW Pakistan E through N India, Nepal and C Myanmar to SE China and manillensis Indian Peninsular S of 20 degrees N and Sri Lanka. Feral in Africa, Arabia, W Pal and W Asia, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Macao and Singapore. Uncertainty as to which races involved but generally thought to be borealis. Borealis the larger subspecies with ,more blue on head, more greyish green below and bill usually all red.

It is possible that there are more than 2 but I have only seen/photographed two at once.

I will put a picture in the gallery when I find out how (I am new here)

I've posted some poor ones of the Rosella's on the gallery here, but there were 3, I wonder if one has perished....

I took photos of three Ring-necks in Alexandra Park in early December.

Also have had a pair of Crimson Rosellas coming to feeders in my garden in Whalley Range occasionally over the past week. I have some fairly good pics.



-- Edited by Magus at 16:29, 2009-02-20

4 seen in Crowcroft Park, Levenshulme from a bus travelling south along the A6 a couple of evenings ago.

Only a short flap from their previous haunt at Birchfields Park

Well done Tim, keep swinging and birding

Sid A

At last! Managed to get into the park on my crutches as far as a bench by the lake for about 4pm. At least 2 Parakeets heard in the area of trees around the warden's house at a distance but not seen. Then on the way back at 4.45pm 3 flew over MC training ground headed NE probably then veering towards Whitworth Park. BUT they had come over Yew Tree Road from the SE and not from the park so that's interesting.

Grateful to be able to make make my first posted sightings for 2009 and add Blackbird, Robin, Tufties, Canadas, Mallards to the year list.

pair in Alex Park still

5 Parakeets (2 males and 3 ringless) and the Amazon on the feeders on the allotment today. They all flew off in the direction of Platt Fields at 3.50pm. They were certainly in good voice this afternoon!

thanks for info Debs and everyone else. Will concentrate on sensory garden and orchard area. Will post when i connect. My screams will be heard first, much louder than the parakeets!(370 on British list)
Will respect privacy of THE allotments and the allotmenteers. Now I know allotments are not visible from toastrack, I had connected those allotments with toastrack cos of vicinity of Platt fields and the find of a dead "parrott" YOU CAN IMAGINE THE PUNS) at work.

Gary, on Sat 3rd Jan the Amazon and Parakeets flew over the allotment from the Withington direction. It was the first time I had seen them head in from that direction.

Three flew over Christie Hospital, Withington heading East at 09.30 Monday morning. Possibly heading towards Fog Lane park. First time I've seen them over Withington. Shame I wasn't in my office so I could add them to my office list.

Gary

The other reliable spot is the small orchard area between the car park and the wardens' compound - alongside the ancient Nico Ditch. Anyone wishing to connect will do so after a few visits - a matter of timing. If they are about you will hear them first! Look down this thread to see their movements from the allotments to the park. Believe me just forget about the allotments for viewing as they are private, gated and you will not be able to see in from the path anyway. Declan and Rob see the other party on most visits to Alex Park too.

I think that Debs is being cautious about the location of her allotment because there is no public access, and the arrival of birding visitors might cause friction with other allotment holders - we have to remember that as well as clearing out Deb's feeders they will eat any other fruit or seeds around - not necessarily welcomed by crop growing allotmenteers.

Platt Fields Park (and Alex Park) are both pretty reliable sites so with a couple of visits everyone should connect.

The Sensory Garden is on the far side of the lake from the Manchester High entrance, there is a small sign if you walk around the lake.

Could you tell me where the allotments are?I regularly go down Platt Lane and pass Platt Fields.Are the allotments anywhere near the junction with Yew Tree Road?

Hi Kath
No, the allotments which I post about are not the ones near the Toast rack, they are in Fallowfield not too far from Platt Fields. Unfortunately they not viewable from the road. When the birds leave the allotment they always fly off in the direction of Platt Fields, so that would be a good bet. My partner cycles thought there on his way to work and often sees them flying over. I am not sure where the Sensory Garden is but Pete posts sightings of them from there, so he must know. Good luck

-- Edited by Debs Wallace at 11:20, 2009-01-19

I work at the toastrack and have been trying to see ring necks in Platt fields for a while but never connected. last there Sat 10th January. Are the allotments u mention the ones i can see from toastrack from Cromwell range?

Where is the sensory garden in Plattfields, loked at al the interpretation boards and signs but none signed sensory garden. Is it called by another name?

ps we had a dead ring necked within grounds of toastrack in January 2007 - a window strike by looks of corpse.

5 (possibly 6) between 10.30 and 11.30 Alexandra Park this morning (ring-necked parakeets, not rosellas)

-- Edited by declan savage at 16:06, 2009-01-18

Hi Debs.

They are slightly smaller, averaging 32-36cm (40cm in Ring-necked) but look larger as do many dark birds.

My main concern for them would be cats, roosting as they do at near ground level.

Hasd I had a butterfly net I could have cauight all 3 tonight, the (deliberately I think) flew right past me!

5 Parakeets (2 male, 3 ringless) and the Amazon on the feeders on the allotment this afternoon.
Re the Rosellas, I would mainly agree with your comment about leaving them alone unless an owner can be traced. The Amazon seems to be doing just fine and unless the Rosellas are going to suffer as a result of their new found freedom maybe they should be left alone.
Just a thought, but are they big enough not to be Sparrowhawk food? The are very bright and obvious and if they are prey sized, they may be easy pickings.
If returned to their owner would they have a good quality life and space to fly or would they be returned to a cage? Not an easy choice is it.

The guy is genuinely concerned about their welfare and feels that they should be trapped and returned to captivity.

In fairness they look healthy and have survived that very cold spell --something they are known for in Aus, so perhaps unless the owner is traced they could be left alone?

Was just going to post this info having just picked the Reporter off my doormat. It also mentions a meeting in Platt Fields Park today at 11am at the Lakeside Centre about their report on wildlife from the Greater Manchester Ecology unit. I would pop in but I can't.

Paul - the chap who has the Crimson Rosellas in his garden is reported as 'thinking of catching them'. But that could just be the usual journalists putting words in his mouth.

The same photo is in the South Manchester Reporter article on the same page as the Crimson Rosellas. There is no web link to the SMR article. The MEN artical is

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1090903_pretty_parky_polly

You saw it first here folks

-- Edited by Pete Hines at 01:25, 2009-01-17

The birds at Platt fields have hit the headlines in the Manchester evening news tonight, there is a photo of one in a hole apparently nesting. RSPB spokesman didn't know we had them in Manchester - suprise, suprise.

Mike

Caught up with the Crimson Rosella's on way home from work tonight - I've given them their own thread, though perhaps this one should be re-named South Manchester exotics and keep all South Manchester parrot related sightings together?

5 R N Parakeets around the lake/ sensory garden, Platt Fields Park, at lunchtime today

Pete,

I've lost your number too!

Rob Smallwood wrote:

---

Debs/All,

I'm following up a report of three Crimson Rosellas in Whalley Range so keep your eyes peeled!

(Debs - I've lost your number - can you text me so I can re-save it? Happy New Year!)

---

So that's what they are. Last seen a week before xmas I believe. A chap came into work before xmas with a very poor picture on his cracked screen digital camera, all I could make out was that they were red and blue (no heads visible). We exchanged contact details, though I've heard nowt since. The feeders can be viewed from the car as they are in the front drive. I gave it ten minutes on 28th Dec and nothing visited. I does look dodgy though, like you're casing the joint or kerb crawling.

Debs/All,

I'm following up a report of three Crimson Rosellas in Whalley Range so keep your eyes peeled!

(Debs - I've lost your number - can you text me so I can re-save it? Happy New Year!)