At 01:37 AM 1/13/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Paul Meyer asked:
>>If anyone has seen the Seward Park parrots since early December, I would
>>appreciate hearing where and in what numbers.
>
>Dave Brodeur wonders:
>>There was some speculation on Tweeters a few months ago that the North
>>Seattle and Seward Park birds were the same flock; was this ever settled?
>
And Fred responds: Based on last year's reasonably close observations (and
somewhat less detailed observations from previous years): the Aratinga
Parakeets (they are not parrots) have a curious mini-migratory routine of
spending Feb. through mid-Aug. in the Seward Park area, then suddenly they
burst forth or north and hang out primarily in Maple Leaf (NE 92n Street X
15th NE) but range west to Ballard and east to Lake Washington. Obviously,
they also go "home" to Seward Park. So would I if I had the choice.

As to which species they are, there's no definitive answer yet. I'd love to
see photos of the adult's underwing. I still hold tenuously to the
possibility that different breeds have interbred, something, I'm told
happens commonly in captive populations.

Lastly, I did count nine overhead earlier this fall, and eight more
recently. Is there any chance that the dead parakeet was recovered? That
would answer a lot of questions.

Fred Bird
Frederick Bird
1249 NE 92nd Street
Seattle, Washington 98115
Ph 206-526-5671
Fx 206-522-6557
fredbird at halcyon.com