Ring-necked Parakeets shit on civil servants
By PETER HONINGS and VICTOR SCHILDKAMP AD
The Hague- Asian Ring-necked parakeets seem to enjoy their stay in The Hague. Hundreds of these colourful psittascenes settled in on the Korte Voorhout (red. A street where some embassies and ministries are located) and –pardon me- literal shit the civil servants on their heads.
The ministry servants in downtown The Hague are having a tough time. At least the ones that want to catch a tram on the Korte Voorhout. They are running for cover with a frightful look up because high in the trees the birds have come to roost. The only safe place is the abri.
Lisanne van Helten (20) en Jennifer Peters (23) working for the Inspectie Verkeer en Waterstaat think that they are here for about 4 months. “They arrive at rushour. Really great, just when everyone has to go outside. They shit on everything.”
‘They’ are the hundreds of Ring-necked parakeets that wandering around in the region for years. They are named after the black ring around their neck. The story says that someday a couple escaped. After that they quickly multiplied.
The first breeding couple in this region was seen in 1968, according to the Haagse Vogelbescherming (red. Birdprotection organisation in The Hague). They were in the Zuiderpark for a while. And in Voorburg. Now they are setteling on the buzy Korte Voorhout.
Ed Opperman, member of the environmental committee of the Haagse Vogelbescherming says that there are around 3500 Ring-necked parakeets flying in The Hague. “Only Amsterdam has a population that is comparable to ours. They have around 3200 Ring-necked parakeets. The roost of the birds in The Hague seems to be relocated to the Korte Voorhout. When they come in for the night you have to watch out to not be shit on your head.”
Carel Bolt (30) works for the Rijksgebouwendienst (red. Realm buildings service). He visits Korte Voorhout on a daily basis. He smiles and looks up. It is around 5.30 p.m. and there are big groups of noisy Ring-necked parakeets. Bolt is looking for the safest way across the street. “It’s funny but you have to watch out. What can you do about it? Placing a …. On the Voorhout?
It’s a wonderful view to see the parakeets arrive. The street on the other hand looks awful. It is completely covered with birddroppings. The abri is consealed with birddroppings. “It is worse in the morning, “says Margreet Boon (29) working for the Rijksgebouwendienst. “Just the noise they make.”
Opperman can imagine that the bird originated form Asia causes inconvenience. “The problem will solve itself. The birds will leave their roosts at the end of March, beginning of April to settle somewhere else.”
The servants that do not complain are from the ministry of Finance. Their building is to be renovated and they are stationed on the Prinses Beatrixlaan till the end of 2008. Gundula Kolodiczyk from Finance hopes: “They will be gone by then?!”
The CDA (red. political party) in the Haagse gemeenteraad (red. municipal counsel) thinks that they have to draw the line here. What measures nobody knows. The population will not decline: they only need food and breeding opportunities. Opperman: “These birds adapted to urban life.
The birds could be chased away with a loud noise to disturb their roost. “The problem will arise in another part of town.”
The only permanent solution according to the member of the Haagse Vogelbescherming is to cull them. “Shooting them is allowed. It is an non-native species and therefore not protected by our law. But are we not crossing a line then?” is the question Opperman is asking himself. “Research shows us that the parakeets don’t harm the native species like woodpeckers. It would be very hypocrite to shoot the Ring-necked parakeets. We have similar problems with pigeons and starling. They do not get shot either.
Opperman has a suggestion for the municipality politics. “Maybe it is possible to exploit this “plague” commercially. We can put up a warning sign for birddroppings. We have to maintain this population. After all this large group of Rink-necked parakeets is a breathtaking sight.
Reported from a noisy The Hague