Invasion of the parrots

[COG]

Does that mean I could actually go up to the scrubs and shoot them with an air rifle?

Sadly no.  You need to be the landowner or an authorised person and there still needs to be justification (such as crop damage).  Taking potshots on public land is generally frowned on by the chaps from CO19, I think.

I wonder whether the internets has any recipes for parakeet pie?

Certain editions of Mrs. Beeton have a recipe for parrot pie, which was intended for Australians and so used parakeets.

[hbunnet]

http://www.projectparakeet.co.uk/index.html  don't seem barmy

http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob7120.htm  BTO bird facts

http://blx1.bto.org/bt-dailyresults/results/s274-20-10.html  BTO map of distribution.

[rogerzilla]

Doesn't anything eat them?

[Pancho]

According to Ms COG, above; Mrs Beeton.

IME, it's best just to cut the breasts out of smaller birds - and chuck the rest away. If I get a parrot, I'll let you know how I get on[1]. They look they ought to taste spicy or Caribbean.

[1] Their range will need to spread a bit first, though.

[Jaded]

Last week I heard an amusing anecdote about a parrot sexing party.

[Fab Foodie]

They're regularly seen in Morden Sarf Lunnun where the MIL lives ... proves that they might look good but have no class ....

[RJ]

Does that mean I could actually go up to the scrubs and shoot them with an air rifle?

Sadly no.  You need to be the landowner or an authorised person and there still needs to be justification (such as crop damage).  Taking potshots on public land is generally frowned on by the chaps from CO19, I think.

I wonder whether the internets has any recipes for parakeet pie?

Is the fact that they are flipping noisy enough of a justification?

No.

Does that mean I could actually go up to the scrubs and shoot them with an air rifle?

... and there still needs to be justification (such as crop damage). ...

It looks like

1. Subject to paragraph 2 and the licence conditions, this licence is granted to:
(i) Conserve wild birds, and ...

and given the lack of many nearby local birds, you could use that as a basis, although I think you would need something more than "I haven't seen any small birds around" as a grounds for that (eg independent local confirmation by someone involved in the running or maintenance of the area).

Or perhaps even some acknowledged scientific expertise.

Science, you say?

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2011.01121.x/abstract

Evaluating the population-level impact of an invasive species, Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri, on native avifauna

Abstract
The introduction of exotic species to ecosystems can have severe consequences for populations of native organisms, but logistical limitations and shortage of historical data often hinder attempts to quantify the ecological implications of such relationships. The establishment and rapid expansion of Ring-necked Parakeets Psittacula krameri in England therefore presents a rare opportunity to apply novel analytical methods to existing extensive national bird monitoring data from the UK Breeding Bird Survey for an invasive species. A previous study from Belgium suggests that Ring-necked Parakeets have the potential to reduce the abundance of Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea through competition for nesting cavities. Our analysis provides no evidence for a significant impact through competition on Nuthatch populations or those of any other cavity-nesting species within the Parakeet’s current range in the UK. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that competitive exclusion could be occurring at a minority of sites at which availability of nest cavities is limiting. This may yet have significant implications for future conflict if Parakeets continue to increase in numbers and range.

Data came from the Breeding Bird Survey (organised by the British trust for Ornithology - see hbunnet's links above)

Results
In agreement with Strubbe and Matthysen (2007), our initial analyses identified a significant, though weak, negative association between numbers of Ring-necked Parakeets and Eurasian Nuthatches (GLM coefficient = −0.078, se = 0.038, z = −2.04, P = 0.041) on surveyed sites (Table 1). However, once we control for human habitation in the analyses, which we demonstrate is positively associated with numbers of Ring-necked Parakeets (GLM coefficient = 0.015, se = 0.002, z = 6.84, P ≤ 0.0001) and negatively associated with Nuthatches (GLM coefficient = −0.023, se = 0.003, z = −7.35, P ≤ 0.0001), the relationship between Parakeets and Nuthatches was removed (GLM coefficient = 0.006, se = 0.011, z = 0.57, P = 0.57). A number of significant positive associations between Ring-necked Parakeets and other cavity-nesting species were similarly removed once human habitation was included in the model (Table 1).

In the second set of analyses we assessed whether there is evidence that rates of change in native cavity-nesting birds have been depressed by Parakeets. Here the only significant negative relationship identified between Parakeets and a potential competitor was for Blue Tits (Table 2). However, a coefficient value for α of −0.001 corresponds to an approximate 0.1% decrease in growth rate of Blue Tits on a BBS square for each additional Parakeet, which is negligible. Therefore there is little evidence from these analyses that Ring-necked Parakeets have had a biologically important impact on the populations of any native cavity-nesting bird in England during the period 1994–2008. Although not the principal focus of this paper, there was better evidence in the above analyses for interactions between some of the native species considered than for interactions between Parakeets and native species (Table 2).

In conclusion, this study found no strong evidence that, within their current geographical range and at current densities in England, Ring-necked Parakeets are negatively influencing the abundance of Nuthatches or any other common native cavity-nesting species. It should be noted here that the overlap between core areas of Parakeet and Nuthatch populations at a national scale is, at present, minimal (BTO Bird Atlas 2007–2011 unpubl. data). However, neither of these observations excludes the possibility of conflict in the future, particularly as Ring-necked Parakeet populations are continuing to grow (Baillie et al. 2009). The studies of Strubbe and Matthysen (2007, 2009) suggest that, in situations where nest-cavities are a limiting resource, Ring-necked Parakeets may have the ability to out-compete Nuthatches, resulting in population declines of the latter, and it is possible that at higher Parakeet densities, other native species might be affected in similar ways. Further intensive field studies, focusing on known Parakeet hotspots in England, are therefore required to determine whether there are any sites at which such negative impacts are already occurring, and if so, how population densities and habitat types interact to mediate competition. This approach, coupled with predictive modelling of the Parakeet population expansion, will enable us to assess the potential for impacts of Ring-necked Parakeets on native species in future.

[Pancho]

Are you saying we shouldn't eat them then? From a scientific POV?

Shame. Would have made a change from pigeon.

[RJ]

They're not a "pest", from a scientific POV.  (Which is the answer to a slighlty different question, I know).

[Toady]

There are zillions in my neck of Sarf East London.  I rather like them - in a completely unscientific way.  I don't know if they out-compete any native species, but I have read to the contrary (as noted above).  Just as I like watching grey squirrels and manky foxes in my garden.  If they do out compete natives, I may look at them a bit differently.