About a week ago I found some Monk Parakeets at an electrical substation near my home. This is one of those birds I thought I’d never see in Seminole Co, but I saw about 15 here a couple weeks ago, and then 25 of them this morning in the same location.
I spoke to someone who works at the substation for a few minutes, and he said their nests get so large they can cause power outages, so they periodically need to get permits to remove one or some of the nests. He said there may be 30 of them in there when they remove the nests.
I can’t get very close to the power lines for photographs, so these are pretty heavily cropped. Maybe one day I’ll ask for permission to go on the property and take photos, but I doubt I’ll get it.
There are over 100,000 Monk Parakeets in Florida alone, all of which are descendants of escaped pets. Unlike most parrots and parakeets, they are from a temperate climate of Argentina, which makes them more able to sustain populations in the United States.
Scott Simmons
Scott Simmons, based in Florida, is a lover of nature, landscape, and wildlife photography. Scott became interested in photography in 2001 when he was given his first SLR camera. When he acquired a telephoto lens, he became progressively more interested in birds and other wildlife. Scott enjoys learning about bird habitats and behavior, striving always to take images that are both beautiful and interpretive. Scott believes photography is a great vehicle to help others to appreciate the wonder for the stuff of earth.
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