Copyright Kitsap Sun

By Niki King, Sun Staff
April 12, 2005

Parrots will fly free no more in Port Orchard - but there will be better
cell phone connection there.

The City Council ruled Monday to allow Cingular Wireless to replace the
existing 60-foot cell phone tower on Mitchell Avenue with one that is 113
foot tall, on one condition: The flock of lime-green Quaker Parrots nesting
there be safely placed in captivity.

Experts say it's the best thing for the birds, which are considered a
problematic, invasive species, kind of like the blackberry bush of the
exotic bird world.

"They are a pretty small problem now, but could easily grow into a much
bigger problem. Good things are aligning to take care of the problem right
now. We can do it cheaply and easily," said Avian Veterinarian Scott Ford of
the Medical Center for Birds in Oakley, Calif.

A local trapper is working with Cingular Wireless to capture the birds. Kate
Clark of the nonprofit Angel Wings Exotic Bird Rescue and Rehab in Kitsap
County has volunteered to care for the birds until they are appropriately
relocated.

The birds could go to breeders, pet shops, homes, or even be donated to
schools, Clark said.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife officially recommended the birds
be captured.

"Parrots have been known to spread diseases and can have a longterm
ecological impact to native wildlife," wrote Fish and Wildlife biologist
Jeff Davis in a letter to the Port Orchard City Council.

The flock of 20 or more is apparently the offspring of five original Quakers
that escaped en route to a bird shop in the South Kitsap Mall.

The birds seemed to have adapted to Port Orchard's environs though their
native homeland is South America. That's typical of the Quakers. They are
hardy enough to live nearly anywhere.

There are large numbers in the wild in California, Louisiana and
Pennsylvania. There is even a flock known to reside in Chicago, Ford said.
Some states have even outlawed them.

There isn't official research to determine the real impact of Quaker parrots
beyond being a fast-proliferating nuisance, but evidence suggests they can
carry diseases, bully local songbirds and chow down on a yard full of fruit.

Ford said the real danger though, is that they simply aren't meant to be
here.

"With any introduced species in North America, the assumption that the
species was innocent until proven guilty has never resulted in a positive
outcome. Once the population is established, it can become beyond control
and there is no going back," Ford said.