Wild parrots in Campbell??

Has anyone in the San Tomas neighborhood seen the flock of parrots who have been hanging out here? Does anyone know the story behind them? I moved to Campbell recently, and I noticed they like to hang out on the big tree outside our house in the mornings. It's a pretty amazing sight - and a remarkably noisy one, too.

Yes, I have heard them also....although I could not see them. They have wild flocks in San Francisco which love to sit in the trees in the Coit Tower area. From what I have heard, parrots can live in this type of weather once they become used to it. (I always thought they preferred warm weather).....They usually originate from parrots that escape their owners.....


meg

You do know about the recently released documentary about the wild parrots in San Francisco called Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, right? If not, what a strange coincidence that you should pose this question at this particular time!

It's funny - I actually read an article in the SF Chronicle many months ago about the parrots in SF and the documentary you've mentioned. I think it's probably the only reason why I was able to identify exactly what these strange-looking noisy birds are. I just couldn't believe my eyes the first time I saw them! They're really interesting to watch.

The parrots have been around for years. I see them do fly-overs in the summer. They can be a noisy bunch. I saw them once while I was driving down Hacienda, did a double-take and pulled over for a better look. I don't remember ever seeing them during the winter.

I've heard stories of how, years ago, some animal activists freed the birds from a tropical aviary. But it's probably just a story. They do make an interesting addition to this area...

I've heard them from time to time as well myself, but didn't realize that they were actually wild parrots until Mary pointed it out a few weeks ago. They perch in one of my neighbors backyard trees on most mornings. When I've heard them in the past I always thought they were someone's pets.

Anyone know what kind of parrots they are? I don't recognize their call at all. They appear to be a murky green but I haven't gotten a really good look at them either. I'll take a photo if they ever get low enough for me to zoom in on.

Hey, Mary? My cat died and I've been actually wanting a bird, how early do you think you'd have to get up to catch me a wild parrott for my birthday?

Hey Barbara! If you're really thinking about getting a bird, you should make contact with Ceci Sharp of Birds Only (her username on Social Wave is "birdsonly"). She knows TONS about birds (it's literally her business!) and she has a strong relationship with a bird rescue organization, Mickaboo. In terms of getting a new feathered pet, I'm convinced that bird rescue is the only way to go. Ceci can give you a lot of information about bird care and what type of bird might suit you best.

That said, I'll put in a good word for you with our green winged friends over here! Maybe they'll be wanting a little two-legged companionship and a roof over their heads.

Just a quick follow-up on my mention of The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill... I saw the film this past weekend, and it really was delightful and thoughtfully done. Definitely a must-see for anyone who loves birds or is interested in the bonds that can form between and among both humans and wild animals. Be prepared to laugh, to cry, to be amazed, and to be moved.

Hey, I finally got an ok photo of one of 'em.
[URL=http://www.socialwave.net/gallery/574/si/[/URL]

I think it's an Amazon, though I'm not sure.

I saw 2 of them playing on the power lines along Hacienda again just today. Even with their green and bright red markings you have to be paying attention to notice them.

That's great! The flock hasn't stopped by the big tree near our house for a couple of weeks, and I was wondering what had happened to them. I'm glad they're still hanging out in the area.

The parrots are back! They seem to hang out in this huge tree by our house every morning. I looked up at them and it looked as if there were more of them this time around, but some of the other birds may have been other species. It's hard to tell with the naked eye.

I've known about these birds for quite some time now. I always thought they were conures, but the picture does look like a yellow-headed amazon. Maybe an amazon escaped.

I own a Jenday conure and they are certainly noisy! In the movie, Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, the birds are conures, a couple of different kinds.

I have family in Sacramento and they also have a flock of parrots visiting their neighborhood!

By the way, if anyone's seen these birds in the past week, Lisa from the Campbell Reporter is looking for info to do a story. She posted a message on one of the photos. Get in touch with her if you can give her any info.
http://socialwave.net/main/index.php?act=m...d=si&img=&p=112

Re the wild parrots, tonight at 11 PM, I almost ran over one of the wild parrots on Martin Ave., in San Jose near the Airport. It was in the middle of the street and I was able to pick it up with a towel and put it in a box. I believe it has an injured wing.

I am going to bring it either to Wildlife Rescue in Palo Alto tomorrow or call For the Birds Vets; unless someone knows an expert in the area that would be willing to take this bird in. I'd hate to see it put down, so any help or resources would be appreciated.

My phone number....call anytime 408-734-8636.

Thanks.

Sandra, you should contact Micaboo Bird Rescue. Their website appears to be down right now, but it's usually at:
http://mickaboo.com

On Sunday April 5th , there were 5 of these birds in a large tree behind my house on Chamberlin Court off Hacienda and San Tomas Aquino. They hung around for about 15 minutes and flew away.

I saw at least 5 parrots on a power wire on Virginia a block off of Hacienda. A very surprising sight, especially in the pouring rain!

If anyone knows a little more about this "flock", post.

Zin

The Parrots here in Campbell (Hacienda/Virginia/Sunnyoaks neighborhood) are "Yellow Crested Amazon" or "Yellow Naped Amazon".

I've lived here collectively for 12 years and when I first moved here there was two. The pair have had successful fledglings (offspring) almost every year and some years two (a hatching in the spring & fall).

When the pair fledge young they spend time alone with the new member of the flock. The most we've seen is 8 although I've lost track. The previous year fledglings have been flying and feeding together and I've counted 5 together which would be right adding 2 parents and newest to = 8. We believe there have been a few lost in the past few years.

One story is that in 1970's a truck traveling with many parrots species toppled over and all the parrots flew finding new homes within the Bay Area including: Campbell, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, San Francisco and other towns...most all are of different species. It's also said that parrots get away from owners and pick different areas depending on climate they prefer and food abundance. Here in Campbell we have many fruit trees and trees that they eat seeds from.

We will never really know how they ended up here but they are happy and thriving with support and love from many who live around them.

Kirsten Harris
Campbell, CA

Is there anything that we can do to assist the parrots?

I think at least some of these are actually Double Yellow Headed Amazons. A few of them have a lot of yellow in their head. Well... they're Amazons and there's bound to be some diversity as they breed.

We used to have a friend who lived in Campbell who rescued parrots. She also had a rather large nest of birds of her own including several parrots. She had a few Amazons. Their wings were clipped so she'd let them hang out outdoors and she said sometimes the wild parrots would come nearby and try to "talk" to her birds. Only one of her birds was able to communicate back. The others were too used to being with people.

From the old photo (2006?) and people's subsequent descriptions, best bets would be Yellow-headed Parrot (amazona oratrix), or two closely related species, the Yellow-naped Parrot (amazona auropalliata) and the Yellow-crowned Parrot (amazona ochrocephala). Sibley says "taxonomy of the Yellow-headed group is uncertain and identification complex."

Adult yellow-headed would have a fully yellow head, a red splash on the shoulder of the wing, a splash of red mid-way on the front edge of the wing, although a juvenile would only be yellow on the forehead and top of head (rather like the 2006 photo suggests, though that could be a trick of lighting).

Yellow-naped would have a yellow patch only on the back of the head/neck. and no red in the shoulder.

Yellow-crowned has a small patch of yellow on the forehead and front part of the top of the head. Red shoulder splash similar to the yellow-headed.

Well our flock of "Yellow-Crowned Amazon Parrots" (species I'm choosing as per the descriptions listed by James posting on Sept. 23, 2010 below my last posting under KC Harris...have a new friend! Not sure of the exact species but I think the new parrot hanging out with our Amazon's is either a "Red-Headed Conure" like the SF Telegraph Hill ones or a "Red-masked Parakeet". I heard a new cackle this morning along with the usual Amazon cackle and ran out to see with my binoculars and long and behold there was our strongest (male I believe) Amazon next to this new parrot exchanging words...or whole conversation. I followed them down Virginia to the usual favorite tree and they stayed together?...can't believe my eyes. I talk to a neighbor who say's she has heard the "new" cackle for a few days now... Did this little guy get loose locally? and will our Amazon flock decide to accept him into their flock. I don't know the count of our flock anymore as they seem to separate more than they used to making it harder to find a total count.

I still love every loud cackle and sightings...I'll try to update as I witness activity. Wishing I had a better lens to post pictures..maybe next posting.

Eyes skyward (usually for Birds of Prey) in awe of these wonderful creatures,

Kirsten Harris off Virginia in Campbell, CA

Thanks for the heads up Kirsten! I hadn't noticed the newcomer. It'd be fun to have a Cherry Headed Conure in our flock! I'll have to look out for that one. Several of them like to hang out in the mornings and in the afternoons in one of the trees in my neighbors' yards around Hazel Ave.

I've gotten some better photos of them throughout the past few years, but I don't have the super-telephoto lens that you need to get a good shot of one. I'll look through those pics and see if there are any worth posting.

I started hearing it recently, too, Kirsten! It doesn't come around our house too often, but it seems to like to stop on one of the trees near our backyard occasionally.

And boy is it noisy!!!! I think you might be right about it being a conure. Its call sounds suspiciously like that.

I spent two weeks living with a friend in Temple City, in LA. SO MANY parrots there. I couldn't stand their noise, louder than crows, and the 3 trees in the backyard around the back house where I was staying were FILLED every night and every morning. They also pulled things off palm trees and threw them at people under them/their cars. The remains of their meals- what they pooped and what they didn't eat- are like cement on cars, including windshields. After that trip, I needed new wipers.

Down there, they had the same story, a truck with parrots destined for a Hollywood movie escaped in the 1940s, but I also heard the story of a fire from a pet store or animal trainer for the movies that started the flock. (Which turned out not to be true, there was a fire in a shop in 1985, but all the parrots died of smoke inhalation).

Here's the sound every morning.... really, you won't get a sense of the true volume from laptop speakers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDHZLuqU3Cg

Thanks, but I prefer the squirrels swearing at the crows, and the crows swearing back at the squirrels. They get it over with and there are moments of peace and quiet in between.