Flocks of wild parrots, such as the ones of Telegraph Hill fame in San Francisco, can be found in various other urban and suburban areas. The parrots shown here are the Wild Parrots of Sunnyvale and have been flapping and squawking around town for some time now. The exact origin of these flocks is unknown.
While the ability of this flock to survive is not the weather so much as the ability to find enough to eat, it is important that the public does not feed them. Feeding these birds makes them dependent upon people and in danger of being too close to traffic, cats and other hazards.
Some of these birds end up in the Mickaboo Bird Rescue system for many reasons. There is a neurological disease of unknown origin that can strike them, causing them to be off balance, unable to fly or keep up with the flock. Some survive an attack by a hawk or cat and need medical help; others, flying too close to traffic, hit cars. Fledglings can have early flying accidents & break a wing or leg.
When injured they are taken immediately to an avian vet for treatment. Mickaboo pays for treatment and finds volunteers to help with recovery fostering. A few of the injured birds return to the wild, but not many. For more information, or to donate toward their veterinary care, please visit http://www.mickaboo.org/wildparrots.
I wish we still had native parrots in the US.
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