The Meadowlands Blog

Monk Parakeet Update

  

    At the suggestion of Karen Riede of Ridgefield, we checked in on the Monk Parakeets of Ridgefield last week, and it seems they are in the midst of a housing crunch.
    The bridge over the train tracks by Railroad Avenue (where else?) is undergoing repairs, and workers had to remove the (eggless) nests.
   Thanks to Karen, the workers did put up two nesting platforms for the parakeets but they were not yet interested in moving in.
   In fact the roughly two dozen parakeets were just hanging around the vicinity, apparently waiting for (and hoping for) the workers to finish. When that will be is unclear.  (Stay tuned!)

   Tomorrow: Laurel Hill Raven Update

RIDGEFIELD: Monk Parakeet update

The Monk Parakeets continue to thrive on the bridge above the train tracks on the Hendricks Causeway in Ridgefield.Best place to see them is from Railroad Avenue.

     A recent fledgling made it all the way to the Slocum Skewes School several bocks away.

Monk Parakeets in the News

 

    A bit of news regarding the Monk Parakeets of Ridgefield.
     Bill Boyle of  the New Jersey Bird Records Committee reports:
    "At the Spring 2008 meeting [last month], the committee voted to add Monk Parakeet to the New Jersey State List. The population in Bergen County, which has been present for many years, has been growing and spreading and is unlikely to be extirpated by natural causes."

   Click "Continue reading..." for the rest of his comments.

MONK PARAKEET VIDEO

MONK PARAKEET UPDATE

   The wild Monk Parakeets of Ridgefield look to be doing well.
   We stopped by to check in on them last week and found more than two dozen sunning themselves in nearby trees. It seemed a bit odd to see a parakeet on a tree with dead leaves, but that is the way it is in this region.
    Karen Riede of the town's Environmental Committee says the Monk Parakeet population is around 30-- as it was last year about this time -- and that the birds are perfectly acclimated.
   "They all grew up right here, and this is the only home or environment they know," she says.
    The birds have been in Ridgefield, Edgewater, Fort Lee and other spots for so long that there is a strong likelihood that  this beautiful, colorful (if a tad loud) bird will be to the state list.

   A prevous post on the parakeets is here.

RIDGEFIELD: Monk parakeets

A lot of people have heard of the monk parakeets of Edgewater or Fort Lee, but far fewer are aware of a colony in the Meadowlands, above the railroad tracks on a bridge along Railroad Avenue.

You'll hear their racket before you see them.  They have been in Ridgefield for a several years, and are likely descendants of escaped birds.  They're also called quaker parrots.

Read more about monk parakeets here.