The theory goes that, sometime in the mid-1960s, a shipment of Monk Parakeets (also known as Quaker Parrots) fell off a plane at JFK airport, and several birds escaped. They took up residence on Long Island, and have since spread to a few localities around the US, such as Chicago, Texas, and a number of areas in the Northeast, such as Bridgeport and Milford, Connecticut. One interesting point is that, because they are not native, they do not migrate in the winter - it must be very strange to see such tropical birds in the depths of a New England winter, but because of the size and construction of their nests (see below), the birds are apparently quite well-protected from the elements.

These shots were taken at two locations in Milford (Meadowside and Pelham streets) where the birds have taken up residence in a number of evergreens. Their nests are elaborate and HUGE, sometimes straining the branches they are built on, and feature a number of entrances to the egg chambers. Because of their size, the nests also provide a home for other, smaller birds, such as House Sparrows, along their edges. The parakeets are usually most active starting around 3pm in the summer, when all the birds pitch in on adding to the ever-growing nests - they are really quite something to watch as they fly off to retrieve new nesting material, fly it back, and weave it into the existing structure.

The parakeets do sometimes build their nest at the top of power/telephone poles, and this has led to some localities pondering declaring them a nuisance/pest, as the nests have caused utility outages.

The Monk Parakeet is a very noisy bird - if you are in the area of one of their nests, you can't mistake them for anything else. For the most part, residents in the area seem happy to have the birds around, and have said that they don't even notice the sound of the birds after a while - it just becomes part of the neighborhood's distintive sound.