Parrots fly wild in town park
Northampton Chronicle by Liz Lee
SEVERAL brightly-coloured parakeets have been spotted by bird watchers living close to Abington Park in Northampton.
The ringneck parakeets, which originate from parts of Africa, Malaysia and India, have been seen in gardens and on trees in the park during the past two months.
Keen photographer Keith Smith took several pictures of one of the birds, which spent more than 10 minutes eating from a bird feeder in his garden in Park Avenue South.
He said: “Living on the edge of Abington Park I spend quite a lot of time photographing the wildlife and those visiting the feeders I have in my garden. I was more than surprised to see a ringneck parakeet.
“While staying in Australia with family last year we were used to seeing these sorts of birds in the garden, but were amazed to find one in the garden in this country.”
A spokesman for Northampton Borough Council parks department confirmed that they had not escaped from the council-run aviary in Abington Park.
He said: “The park workers are aware that there are about half a dozen parakeets in the park. They are not native to the UK, but have apparently acclimatised quite well to our weather.
“They are very unusual in Northampton as they have tended to settle further south, typically in Devon, so the ones in the park are most likely to be escaped pets. But they are not endangered, so people don’t necessarily have to report them.”
Lois Hook, of the Northampton Parrot Centre, added: “A large number of ringneck parakeets were released into the wild in the 1950s, so they seem to have taken to living here.
“I was not aware they had come as far north as Northampton, so it is quite surprising there are so many in the park.”
The long-tailed parakeets are actually parrots, and are growing in popularity as pets in Britain. They usually sell for about £150.