By Rob Rector

It seems only fitting that a resort area that was once a religious retreat would be the home base for a group of wayward monk parakeets.

The parrot-size bird, its lime-green color so striking compared to the blacks and browns of common yard birds, has been the cause of finger-pointing and binocular browsing in the Rehoboth area for many years. Where did these unusual birds come from? Did they flee from a sinking oceanic vessel and find solace on our shores? Are they refugees from a now-defunct Rehoboth Avenue pet store? Did they escape from a shipping container at a distant urban airport? Did they make the arduous journey north from the tropics and, like so many other transplants to Rehoboth Beach, decide to call the town home? All of these theories, odd as they may sound, have been suggested at one time or another.

A native of South America, the monk parakeet hasn’t been well-studied in the United States. The lack of accurate documentation of the bird’s arrival in North America only heightens the curiosity about its making a home on the remote Delaware coast.

Escaped pets?
Noted ornithologist John Bull chronicled their arrival in New York in the early 1970s, and sightings were reported at other locations along the East Coast. A leaflet published by what is now known as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service predicted that “[the monk parakeet] will gradually extend its range southward to Florida and westward to include the southwest and the West Coast.” Although an unusual sight in coastal Delaware, the monk parakeet is actually the most abundant naturalized parrot species in the U.S., having established colonies in numerous states, from Connecticut to Delaware, from Texas to Florida and even as far away as Oregon and Illinois.

“It’s easy to see why they would nest in Florida,” says state naturalist Chris Bennett, and an avid birder for almost two decades. “With all the illegal bird smuggling that takes place, there is probably every species of parrot found down there.”

Bennett says that first records of local sightings go back to 1988, when a colony of 16 to 32 monk parakeets was spotted nesting around Rehoboth’s Silver Lake.

“There is a possibility that they were released illegally at some point,” he says.

The pet trade was probably the main cause behind the monk parakeet’s arrival in North America. According to The Birds of North America, by Mark F. Spreyer and Enrique H. Bucher, more than 60,000 monk parakeets were imported to the U.S. between 1968 and 1972, and many of them were later released by pet owners who became tired of them, or they escaped from their cages. Some were intentionally released by zoos, and others escaped from damaged shipping crates.

At first, bird experts feared that monk parakeets, considered a crop pest in South America, would ravage crops in its newly adopted homeland, so they recommended the capture of the non-native bird. But this threat didn’t materialize, and monk parakeets were left free to breed and expand their range.

Local flocks
The flock that established itself in Rehoboth Beach had a primary nest, which resembled an oversized beehive made of sticks, near a warm generator atop a telephone pole along Lake Drive. But some of that flock seems to have recently relocated to the Thompson Island Preserve, near Rehoboth Bay, where they can find the tall waterfront trees (or utility poles) they prefer. The uninhabited nest was destroyed because it was considered a fire hazard, but a new one was under construction along Lake Drive in June.

If their staccato shriek or neon-green plumage doesn’t immediately grab attention, their domicile surely will. The monk parakeet is the only species of the parrot family that doesn’t nest in a cavity. Its home can be a single nest, or as demonstrated by its Silver Lake residence, a larger dwelling with a dozen or more separate chambers. It is the only parrot in the world to build such nests, and the striking structures can house as many as 20 pairs of the monogamous birds.

Although many people wonder how a “tropical” bird can survive coastal Delaware’s harsh winters, its native habitat includes cold mountainous regions. Its nests are well-insulated, and large colony nests probably benefit from the group’s body heat. Like other year-round avian residents, monk parakeets rely on backyard bird feeders to supplement their diet during lean winter months.

Both parents share feeding responsibilities of its nestlings, which stay in the nest for about 40 days. The birds primarily feed on seeds, cracked corn, pine seeds, suet, acorns, grass seeds, apples, cherries, grapes and raisins. It is exactly this all-encompassing appetite that has earned the bird its reputation as a voracious, crop-destroying nuisance. But their numbers in Delaware have not been high enough to cause concern. “The most I’ve ever seen at one time is four or five,” Bennett says.

Despite its name, the monk parakeet - at about 11 inches long - is closer in size to a parrot than a parakeet, and lives about as long: 30 to 35 years. In addition to its striking green plumage, the monk parakeet has some blue tail feathers and a grayish face and chest. This gray cowl, which resembles religious attire, is the origin of its several names, which include Quaker parakeet and Quaker parrot.

Origin
Wild monk parakeets are native to South America from central Bolivia and southern Brazil, south to central Argentina. In addition to its wild population the U.S., monk parakeets are also popular pets in some areas. On Internet forums for monk parakeet devotees, owners praise the bird’s charm and intelligence. Keith Dougherty, co-owner of M & D Bird Farm in Harbeson, fills requests from customers for the birds. Dougherty says that the most common theory he’s heard about the origin of the wild colony of local parakeets is that a truck carrying the birds overturned. “There are some people who carry wild birds illegally and go from pet store to pet store, trying to sell them,” he says. “They are kind of like gypsies, who have no records of the birds with them.”

Laws vary from state to state - while owning monk parakeets is legal in Delaware, it’s illegal in some other states, including California, Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wyoming. Dougherty says the bird’s reputation for crop damage stems from its style of feeding. “If there is a nearby orchard, they’ll start to nibble on an apple, fly away to another apple and nibble on it, and so on [leaving a trail of unfinished fruit in its wake].”

Among those who worry that the bird might be a crop-ravaging nuisance, those who praise the bird as a unique local icon, and those who are startled to first catch a glimpse of the green streak, the monk parakeet has inspired spirited conversation among Rehoboth Beach residents. Yet the little monk’s arrival remains cloaked in mystery.

Rob Rector is an English Teacher at Sussex Central High School and co-owner of Quest Kayak in Lewes.