There are quite a number of wild flocks of parrots (psittacines) established in the United States. Quaker Parakeets are the most successful and have become established in several states along the east coast, South and Midwest. This may not be surprising considering their nest building talents and the fact that they are pests in their native South America. Suburban neighborhoods in desert Arizona are home to wild Peachface Lovebirds which are breeding and expanding their range. Florida has numerous species, from budgies to macaws, that are surviving in the wild and some are breeding successfully. Most surprising of all is that 2 species of Amazons that are listed as threatened in their native land are successfully breeding and expanding their range in suburban neighborhoods in Southern California. Red-crowned Amazons (aka Mexican Red-headed Amazons) are the most successful, followed by Lilac-crowned Amazons, which are also doing quite well. This is happening in an artificial habitat that looks nothing like their native tropical rainforest.
These birds are many thousands of miles away from their natural range in Mexico. They did not arrive here on their own. They were established from escapees from captivity, and there are many myths about how the original birds were liberated. Most likely, there were many incidents of releases, both purposeful and accidental.
The Amazons have been established since the 1950's, but their population has really started to explode in the last 20 years. Interestingly, Double Yellow-headed Amazons were the most common Amazon here about 30 years ago, but it appears that they are being out competed by the more successful Red-crowned and Lilac-crowned Amazons.
There are several separate Amazon flocks established in Southern California, including flocks in San Diego and Santa Ana/Orange, but the most successful flock of Amazons occurs in Temple City/Arcadia California, which is about 20 miles northeast of Los Angeles, near Pasadena. This area hosts the largest population of naturalized Amazons in the US.
Naturalized is the accepted term when a non-native, or introduced, species becomes established with a self-sustaining breeding population.
Along with the Red-crowned and Lilac-crowned Amazons in the Temple City flock, there are also quite healthy populations of Mitred, Red-masked, and Blue-crowned Conures, as well as Canary-winged Parakeets, but these have not multiplied as fast as the Red-crowned Amazons. There are much smaller numbers of Spectacled, Red-lored, Blue-front and Double Yellow-headed Amazons. The different species tend to segregate into their own groups within the larger flock, but the various species do roost in the same general area and frequent the same foraging sites.
Several years ago, the Red-crowned Amazon population of the Temple City flock was estimated at about 2000 birds. This doesn't count the other species established there or other separate flocks such as the population in Santa Ana/Orange. Considering how fast they are expanding their range, I wouldn't be surprised if the population has doubled since that estimate was made.
I live about 15 miles east of the main roosting area. Only
5 years ago, it was extremely rare to see any wild parrots around my house, but
now it's not unusual to see flocks of 60 or more Amazons flying right over my
house. I almost always hear them before I see them. Just in the past year, the
Amazons that fly over my house will occasionally stop to forage in trees on my
street, but they are mostly headed to the neighboring cities of Claremont and
Pomona, about 10 miles further east, where there are greater numbers of very
mature trees to forage in. They will head back to the roosting site in Temple
City at sunset, making the 25 mile trip before dark. That's a 50 mile round-trip
each day, but it's no big deal for them.
The Amazons appear to be very opportunistic about where they feed and are
willing to use food sources that they would never encounter in their native
Mexico. This is a likely key to their success. Fortunately, they are sticking to
the wide variety of introduced landscape trees and are not using any native
California habitats which would put them in competition with native species of
birds. Their favorite trees are Indian Laurel Fig (Ficus microcarpa) and
Chinaberry trees (Melia azedarach), but any fruiting or nut bearing
landscape tree will be utilized for foraging. They commonly nest in cavities in
Liquidamber, Silver-leaf Maple and Sycamore, but they will also nest in the
crowns of palm trees.
By contrast, the Yellow-chevroned Parakeets, aka Canary-winged Parakeets, are closely tied to the Silk Floss Tree (Chorisia speciosa) in their native habitat in South America. This tree is commonly used as a landscape tree in southern California. When the first Canary-winged Parakeets gained freedom here, they were very lucky to find that their main food source had already been established and was waiting for them. Without mature specimens of this tree, they probably never would have survived in southern California. These parakeets often nest in Canary Island Date Palms.
There is no effort to control the wild parrots or eradicate them. So far, the
studies have shown that they are not competing with local wildlife since they
are not using any of the native habitats. There was some concern over some
conures that were hanging out in some native foothill riparian habitat, but they
appear to be an isolated case. The parrots really depend on non-native landscape
trees in well developed suburban areas – not the type of areas that sensitive
native species are found in.
Most human residents are surprisingly oblivious to them, but the people that do notice them tend to enjoy them. At the roosting site, where they are most numerous, there are some complaints, but for the most part, the birds are just part of the normal scene now. They don't really do any noticeable damage to the foliage. Mostly, it's the noise that causes the few complaints. Fortunately, as soon as it gets dark, they're totally quiet. If they made noise at night, they would be much less popular.
The
best time for viewing is right at sunset in the months of December, January and
February. This is when the highest concentration occurs at the roost site. The
flock is a bit more dispersed for nesting through spring and early summer. By
early summer through fall, you can commonly observe fledgling parrots pestering
their parents for food.
A few things are pretty clear about these birds - The original escapees were wild-caught birds who knew how to survive in the wild. Once a small group of them learned where the food sources were, any other wild-caught escapees had a better chance of survival by joining the foraging parties. Today, the expanding numbers are solely the result of breeding success rather than continued escapes. Unfortunately, there is evidence of some hybridization, especially in the smaller Santa Ana/Orange flock.
Hopefully, the parrots will continue to avoid critical native habitat and thus avoid competition with native species. They are certainly enjoyable to watch, and they do provide hope that the threatened populations in their native Mexico should be able to adapt to habitats altered by people as long as the people leave the parrots alone.
