Denizens of NY: seen any of these flying around?

[skalogre]

Because I pretty much have birds in the brain, I cannot help but be fascinated with these little chaps.
http://www.brooklynparrots.com

Apparently Myopsitta Monachus can be found in quite a few places around the NY area. My wife and I actually saw a flock at Casa Grande (south of Phoenix, AZ)

 

[faustian bargain]

i used to see the flock of conures flying around near telegraph hill (San Francisco) every day when i worked in the neighborhood several years ago. i always thought that was interesting.

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by faustian bargain

i used to see the flock of conures flying around near telegraph hill (San Francisco) every day when i worked in the neighborhood several years ago. i always thought that was interesting.

These conures?
http://www.wildparrotsfilm.com/

 

[von Rothbart]

There's a big colony, probably the biggest in the nation, up in either Norwalk or Bridgeport, CT (I forgot which one). There's an article in the NY Times not long ago. Legend has it a truck containing cages and cages of monk parrots enroute from JFK overturned on I-95 near one of the aforementioned towns.

People who live near the colony either love them or hate them. Hate them because they're noisy and nosy animals. They love to build their gigantic nests on the power poles which are a major headache for the power companies. They survive the winters by staying inside the nest and cuddling each other for warmth.

I don't know if those found in Brooklyn are from the CT colony. If they are, are there reported colonies along North Shore of Long Island. North Shore is right across the Sound from CT and is much closer than Brooklyn.

They fascinate me as well. I understand they are highly intelligent and live very long, correct? Can they talk like regular parrots? What's their temperments? Do they attach to human?

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by von Rothbart

....They fascinate me as well. I understand they are highly intelligent and live very long, correct? Can they talk like regular parrots? What's their temperments? Do they attach to human?
Temperament is interesting - be prepared to be horrified and amazed with one of these birds around. Many people liken them to miniature Amazons. They can be pushy, opinionated and very stubborn. However the upside is that they love interaction with their flock, will spend ages chattering and watching you and form extremely strong bonds. My monk parrot, Chloe, is a complete sweetheart even if she can sometimes be a handful. Around her puberty period, which for Monk/Quakers is at around 12 months, she was quite the little horror. She would literally talk back, throw things, complete utter tantrums. She has become a good little lady now even if she still is very protective/possessive of her things and cage. That is typical though for the species as they are the only parrot to buld nests. An activity she used to love was taking little wooden blocks and stacking them against the side of her playstand. Harkens to her psittacine civil engineer/construction worker instincts

Of course right after that our Sun Conure would go over and start pulling everything apart because he just loves destroying things. Memorable moments: My wife told her off for something, told her loudly "Chloe, NO!". The bird proceeded to bob her head violently while screaming No No NO NO. Another instance, she grabbed with her beak one of her little wooden toys and proceeded to try throwing it out of the cage at my wife. A few months ago, we let her out of the cage and Chloe said (surprisingly clearly for her) "thank you". We never tried teaching her that specifically, she must have picked it up while listening to us. She has the onerous distinction of going "Arrrrrr" on command or when she suddenly feels like it. Ironically she first did that sound while I was watching that Monty Python skit of the Long John Silver Impersonators v. Bournemouth Gynaecologists

The other thing that I never realised before I had a parrot around is how closely they observe your body and facial expressions. She can definitely distinguish between frowning, smiling et.c. She also copies our head and hand motions. One of her favourite games is copying our moving up and down of uor head, sort of like a staggerred ladder thing (complete with sound effects). Like a toddler she also gets completely entranced with peek-a-boo games. To the point that she will run behind things, hop out and say peek-a-boo. There is so much I could list, I better put a brake on it now

P.s. from what I understand the typical life expectation is 30-35 years.