Corralitas Drive: Feral Parakeets

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 8, 2015.  No, they're not parrots the noisy little green birds who frequent Corralitas Drive are either Yellow-Chevroned Parakeets or White-Winged Parakeets.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

You've heard them squawking loudly as they fly through the neighborhood or descend on your trees, but they are hard to get a clear photo of, because they blend in so well with the greenery.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 8, 2015.  They are well adapted to Southern California and seem to find plenty to eat in the palm and rubber trees in our yard.  They seem to have a good time frolicking in the trees too.  When they invade with a big enough flock, they will dive bomb the cats in the backyard.  The cats want nothing to do with these 8" tall, wacky, noisy birds.

Click here for all our parrot posts.

Learn more about the wild parrots of Los Angeles: The California Parrot Project

Corralitas Drive: Stuff You Missed This Year, Frolicking Parrots

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 23, 2014.  Flocks of feral parrots seemed to descend on the the neighborhood this summer.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

They stayed into the winter.  Just last week I got an email from a Corralitas neighbor, who reported her 2 cats were pinned down by a large noisy flock of parrots that were dive bombing them from the rubber tree above.  She went out swinging a broom at the parrots & they began attacking her, nipping at her hair & clothes.  At least it was a diversion so the cats could get back to the house.  No one was injured.

Stuff You Missed This Year is our annual wrap up of interesting photos and things we just didn't have a chance to run, because everything seems to always happen at the same time.

Corralitas Drive: Parrots Frolicking Updside Down

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 31, 2014.  I heard a flock of parrots* just going nuts in the backyard.  Grabbed my camera, zoomed all the way in & shot blindly.  A bunch of the bright green birds were literally hanging upside down, swinging back & forth on pieces of the palm frond, as if they were in an amusement park. They really seemed to be just playing and having a noisy good time of it too.

*Ok, they're most likely parakeets, but we don't have an exact ID yet. 

Corralitas Drive: "Are Those Parrots?!"

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 15, 2014.  Neighbors have been reporting flocks of 6 to 12 squawky bright green birds flying noisily by & landing high in their trees for the past week or so.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

In the morning sun, they have absolutely brilliant green plumage.  If you look closely, they are about 8" high, have a spot of yellow under their wings and have white circles around their eyes.   

They fly really, really fast.  When the Red Tailed Hawks are scarce (like this year), the parrots fly more noisily & at a lower altitude through the neighborhood. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 18, 2014.  Judging from earlier photos, these are either Yellow-chevroned Parakeets or  White-winged Parakeets.  Yep,  they're wild. 

Report your parrot sightings: California Parrot Project.

Corralitas Drive: Parrot Sightings

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 2, 2013.  I managed to capture a few frames of a noisy wild parrot, near the top of my neighbor's tree.  It was calling to another noisy wild parrot in one of our palm trees.  (Click on photo to enlarge.) 

Small flocks of noisy wild parrots (or parakeets, I'm not sure which species) were flying around the Red Car Property Neighborhood, all Labor Day weekend.  

The Red Tailed Hawks have not been around much lately, as the parrots only seem to be that talkative, flying low, criss-crossing the neighborhood, when there are no hawks around.  When the hawks are round, the parrots fly quietly, very high & very fast.   

The California Parrot Project invites the public to report wild parrot sightings in California.  The project is associated with the LA County Natural History Museum & Pasadena Audubon.   

Corralitas Drive: Wild Parrots Enjoying Warm Weather After Cold Snap

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 18, 2013.  I finally managed to capture a photo of one of the many wild parrots I regularly hear flying through the neighborhood.  I literally just pointed in the direction of the really loud squawking and got lucky.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

 

Two or three parrots were squawking up a storm Friday chasing each other through the trees atop Corralitas Drive.  Each time they'd land in one, I strained to see them, only catching a flash of green as they sped off to another tree.  They stopped for quite some time screaming at each other in one of our palm trees.  Then I got lucky with the one photo above.  I was surprised at the length of their tails when they flew off. 

 

I've seen stories and photos through the years on The Eastsider and most recently, in the Eagle Rock Patch about the non-native wild parrots.  For years I've seen and heard them flying & squawking over the neighborhood.  They sometimes loudly flock in our rubber trees, eating the fruit, making a mess, but I never manage to get a photo.  

 

According to the California Parrot Project, this might be either a Yellow-chevroned Parakeet or a White-winged Parakeet.  Unfortunately, this was the only shot I got.

 

The California Parrot Project was set up by Kimball Garrett of the LA County Natural History Museum to track the distribution of parrots in California.  They invite the public to participate by reporting parrot sightings on their website. 

 

Corralitas Drive: Red Tailed Hawks Affecting Neighborhood Bird Behavior

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 28, 2012.  I watched both Red Tails make failed gopher/rat/small mammal hunts from the Eucalyptus trees on the 2 Freeway, adjacent  to the Red Car Property.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

With 4 hungry babies to feed, the nesting pair of Red Tailed Hawks have been taking whatever prey they can get this year.  Last week, a neighbor and his family walking the Red Car Property, reported seeing a Cooper's Hawk catch a Mourning Dove in the trees in Red Car Canyon.  The very next day, they watched a Red Tail fly by with a Mourning Dove in its talons, headed for the nest at Allesandro & Rosebud. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 15, 2012.  A pair of crows must have a nest on the opposite side of Corralitas Drive, as they seem to harass the Red Tails daily. 

In the past week, I've noticed a flock of about 8 large green parrots has grown strangely quiet, as they fly quickly and lower in altitude over the top of Corralitas.  Usually the parrots are noisy, calling constantly, as they fly by in the mornings.  They seem to know the Red Tails are on the hunt, and they should pass quickly through the hawks' territory.  (The hawks are usually in a nearby tree looking for prey.) 

The squirrels in my yard are noticeably quiet this year too.  There are not too many squirrels left either.