Quakers, Monks, whatever . . . just as long as they're religious and good to their mothers. (Though I've never before seen "Quakers" used for their name.)

One of the greatest surprises of my birding life, several years ago, was walking in one of the open park spaces near the lakeshore in Chicago and suddenly having this flock of green things fly by me. They're Monks, of course. The colony there has been established for a long time, and I have them on my life list because of that encounter, because I'm quite sure they're countable in Illinois.

But, oh, a few days ago I was looking at Audubon's painting of the Carolina Parakeets that were so common in his day, remembering how beautiful they were, reflecting again on the outrages we've committed against our environment. The Monks will never replace them ecologically, but perhaps they can replace them aesthetically.

Burt Guttman
The Evergreen State College
Olympia, WA 98505 guttmanb at evergreen.edu
Home: 7334 Holmes Island Road S. E., Olympia, 98503

________________________________

From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu on behalf of Kristin Stewart
Sent: Wed 12/1/2004 4:59 PM
To: JEFFREY COHEN; tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Quakers/Monks


Tweeters,

There is a nest site of Monk Parakeets in Newport News, Virginia as well. It has been there for many years...which means something in the neighborhood of 15-20 according to a reliable birding friend. I first saw this nest site about 5 years ago. It is located on and around the crosspieces of a power pole in a residential neighborhood, and is no more than 20 or 25 ft from the ground. They are not on the VA State list because no one has done the necessary documentation. I have heard of another site in Norfolk or VA Beach, but did not track it down.

Kristin Stewart
Olympia
kristinstewart01 at comcast.net <mailto:kristinstewart01 at comcast.netr>

----- Original Message -----

From: JEFFREY COHEN <mailto:kokobean2 at hotmail.com>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 10:07 AM
Subject: [Tweeters] Quakers/Monks

Hi Tweeters,
Quaker or Monk Parakeets are the same birds. They have been established for at least 10 years in Connecticut. Apparently they have managed to migrate across country. In Connecticut, their nests are in colonies, and always nest in large (at least 40') evergreens. They travel in small flocks to feeding areas, then return to the nest colonies. They are a common cage bird, but Connecticut has deemed them a potential agricultural hazard, and therefore they cannot be legally sold in that state. But a potential pet owner can easily drive across the state line to New York where (last I heard) it is perfectly legal to purchase them.
Jeff Cohen
Everett, WA
kokobean2 at hotmail.com


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