2004 Sovon: Year of the Ring-necked parakeet
After the successful Year of the Kingfisher in 2002 and the Great Bittern in 2003 we have now arrived at the year of the outsider in Dutch avifauna; the Ring-necked parakeet. We do not know much about this stranger who broke free and settled in the big cities of the west of the Netherlands. Where do they breed and how many are there? We do not know because we do not yet have the best method for counting them. According to data in the SOVON broedvogelatlas (breeding bird guide) there should be around 220 breeding pairs in the Netherlands. There are indications however that this is less than the actual number.
Besides the need for a census we chose the Year of the Ring-necked parakeet to introduce the people of metropolitan areas to a bird census. This bird is very colourful and conspicuous. Who knows, more people might become regular participants of SOVON censuses. Ring-necked parakeets are easily recognisable, noisy and to be found in an urban area because they are confined to city parks.
It is interesting to watch the Ring-necked parakeets gather in fall and winter at their roost. 1700 birds were counted at the Amsterdam Oosterpark roost October 2003. There is much to learn about this species and SOVON hopes that with the help of sightings at the end of the year we will have better insight in the numbers and dispersion of this colourful psittacine species.
There are several ways you can join the Year of the Ring-necked parakeet:
(a) Report single sightings
Everyone that sees one (or more) Ring-necked parakeets can report them on our website www.sovon.nl. We request participants to describe their observation as accurate as possible. Was the bird visiting a breeding cavity, was a group flying by or have you seen birds at a (possible) roost. It is very interesting to know where they breed and where the communal roosts are located. We hope to gather additional information about this species as a breeding bird and in what numbers they use the communal roosts to get better insight in the best possible census method.
(b) Participate in the national roost census at the end of the year
Besides the individual reports we like to investigate all the known, and unknown, roosts to count the parakeets. As a national census this will give the most accurate indication of the total number of Ring-necked parakeets in the Netherlands.
Would you like to join this national roost census, or maybe you know where a roost is located, let us know. Later this year there will be more information about the roost census on the website.
Always report your sighting. Even when you think the location of the breeding pair or roost is already know at SOVON. We rather have double data then none.
Exotic (non-native) animals are part of our community. The Ring-necked parakeet like several other species are part of the group of exotic animals. When a breeding population in the Netherlands descends from a escaped non-native pet we call them an exotic species. We have several examples of exotic species in the Netherlands: Canada Goose, Mandarin duck and Monk parakeet. SOVON keeps track of the numbers and dispersion because exotic species are part of the Dutch avifauna as well.