United Illuminating, a large power company in Connecticut, has plans to remove over 100 quaker parakeet nests in West Haven, Milford, Stratford, and Bridgeport, CT and to kill all the inhabitants. 

An average nest has 20-30 inhabitants, so 2000-3000 of the beautiful little green parrots will be killed if they are not stopped.  They have already killed hundreds of birds, and they are sending out 2-3 crews per night to continue the process.

The birds have been building nests on power lines and transformers, and the concern is that this can cause fires.  They report that there have been two transformer fires over the 30 years these birds have been here.  They have not released information on how many fires have been caused by other means, such as automobile crashes into poles. 

They have worked with CT Audubon to find humane ways to deal with the problem, but reportedly have not found any.  Again, the results of their research have not been made public.  CT Audubon, which has no recent experience with parrots since the last parrot native to the U.S. died in 1914, has not been in contact with the Connecticut Association for Aviculture, the largest parrot organization in the State of CT, the Quaker Parrot Society, or any other knowledgeable sources about parrot behavior, as far as we are aware, to try to work out a solution to this problem.  Since parrot behavior differs substantially from that of other birds, this might have helped alleviate the problem.

The CT Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the USDA have also endorsed UI's plan.  The USDA is actually responsible for killing the birds and is using taxpayer dollars to assist a private for-profit company.  Power companies in other states, such as NJ (PSE&G), are coordinating with parrot groups and attempting to solve this problem rather than authorizing wholesale slaughter of a species. 

We lost our only native parrot, the Carolina parakeet, almost a century ago.  We finally have another parrot species establishing itself in this country which has not negatively impacted on "native" bird species, yet private industry, in conjunction with state and federal government, seems bound and determined to exterminate this one as well.  They argue that these are non-native species, so they have no protection under the law and should be removed.  I guess all non-Native Americans should also leave! 

Rescue groups have offered to remove the birds and take them out of state, since they are not legal to own in CT, but CT regulations also apparently forbid removing the birds from the state.  So they can't stay because they are an inconvenience and not worth the time to learn to live with, but they can't legally leave, so the only alternative is to kill them! 

Now that UI is aware that there are organizations with knowledge about parrots in general and quaker parakeets in specific, we need a moratorium on killing so we can discuss this and arrive at solutions which will keep the population safe from fires and blackouts, but preserve our wildlife and our humanity.

The slaughter is almost over.  UI has killed most of the parrots in West Haven already, and is apparently killing them in Milford, Stratford, and Bridgeport already too.  We found about 40 or so birds alive today, mostly around several very large nests.  They probably hit these nests already, but couldn't kill all the birds at once.  They wait for the ones who escaped to come back to the nests to feel comfortable, then go back to kill the rest.  The birds we saw today grooming, calling, and playing will undoubtedly be dead in a week.  Attached is a picture of one who doesn't know he won't be alive much longer.  It's hard to stop crying long enough to write this. 

Amy

New York Times: Eradication of Parakeets Draws Protests

UNITED ILLUMINATING, tired of pulling monk parakeet nests off utility poles only to see the birds return and rebuild, began capturing the parakeets about two weeks ago and handing them over to scientists from the federal government to kill.

For the first few days, the euthanization went quietly. And then an article in The Connecticut Post alerted local animal rights activists to the procedure.

Lawmakers get involved in fight to save parakeets

By Pat Eaton-Robb, Associated Press

HARTFORD — United Illuminating officials have agreed to meet with environmental groups and state lawmakers at the Capitol on Tuesday to discuss the power company’s plan to eradicate monk parakeet nests from utility poles in southern Connecticut.

The meeting was called by State Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, after environmentalists and members of the public spoke out against killing the birds.

“What we hope to do is find some way we can save these birds, and at the same time protect the power supply,” said Roy.

The power company says the eradication plan is necessary because the birds are building huge nests near transformers, creating fire hazards and the potential for power outages.

About 130 of the green and gray pigeon-sized birds have been captured in the first days of the eradication project, said Al Carbone, a UI spokesman.

At night, when the birds return home, crews poke holes through their nests and capture them in a net. The parakeets, about 40 to a nest, are turned over to the United States Department of Agriculture, which euthanizes most of them using carbon dioxide. The nests, which can fill the bed of a pickup truck and weigh over 200 pounds, are then removed.

The company says it will take about six weeks to remove the 103 monk parakeet nests from poles in West Haven, Milford, Stratford and Bridgeport. Weather and the Thanksgiving holiday have prevented crews from going out since Nov. 18.

Carbone said the company has no plans to end the program.

“We are utility experts, not bird experts,” Carbone said. “This was a solution that was formulated by the USDA in support with the DEP and several bird organizations, like the National Audubon Society.”

But other environmental groups, including Friends of Animals, and the Humane Society of the United States say the killing is not necessary.

The Humane Society has asked UI to take down the nests without killing the birds, then hire someone to dismantle them when the birds try to rebuild.

“These are very smart birds,” said Laura Simon, urban wildlife director for the Humane Society of the United States. “If you harass them correctly at the right time of year, they will learn not to build on the poles and will move someplace else.”

Carbone said removing nests has not worked in the past. He said workers have also tried discouraging the nest building using plastic owls, chemical repellents, lasers and ultrasonic frequencies.

He said the company must make public health and safety its main concern.

“We’ve gotten calls from people on life support, worried about these nests causing their power to go out,” he said. “They are on pins and needles.”

Roy said he understands the power company’s dilemma, but hopes a compromise can be reached.

“I’ve had over 50 calls about this, and only one person has been on the side of UI,” he said.

Just putting my 2 cents in here.  I have called and emailed the parties to crab...no response. I am a member of NY Audubon and I emailed the CT chapter and CC'd the NYC chapter, saying I was thinking of canceling my membership and never giving them any more money at all when they fundraise - I also asked them why I should support an organization that is supposed to assist avian welfare, yet condones murder. I have not recieved a response at all from either. It seems that they will just continue despite public protest.

Marc Johnson of Foster Parrots writes:

Report of surveillance of Mon-Tues November 21-22.

I arrived in New Haven at 3 pm.  Enough time to watch the quakers coming in to roost.  Most nests on First Ave. had several birds with perhaps a dozen in the trees nipping off branches to add to their nests.  Two nests on E. Brown St. had two parrots in each (survivors from the recent cull on E. Brown).  There were many birds on the north end of Park St., perhaps 10 to 20.  There were many nests, perhaps 10 or so with no birds visible.  Several, including those on Ocean Ave. had only one or two birds showing up for "roosting time".  The saddest thing I saw were the several nests where only one bird showed up at twilight.  Soul survivors, family gone, mates gone......

I cruised the neighborhoods from 3 pm till around 5 pm.  I did see two UI cherrie pickers but they were working on lines.  No sign of any nest destruction or killing.  I then returned at 9 and cruised around till 10:30.  Nothing.  I then returned again at 1 am and patrolled until 3 am.  Not a peep. 

I did feel good to think that the birds I saw this morning were not disturbed but I wondered....  do they have nightmares.....?

Photos,
single bird waiting to retire... 
non-parrot species using nests as their home

 

Bird lovers cry foul over parakeet killings

"I couldn't NOT do anything," said the 37-year-old West Haven woman. "So I started yelling at them and standing under the nest."

Cook was arrested on a breach-of-peace charge.

Bird lovers delighted by the chattering and the brilliant green-and-gray markings of Connecticut's wild parakeets are upset over an effort by United Illuminating Co. to remove 103 large nests from its utility poles and destroy the birds.

The utility, which serves about 320,000 customers in southern Connecticut, says the 200-pound nests of sticks and twigs cause fires and blackouts.

The monk parakeets, which are actually small parrots native to South America, started establishing colonies in the wild across the Northeast about 40 years ago after pet owners accidentally or deliberately released them.

There are also colonies in Florida and elsewhere in the South and in the West.

In Connecticut, where the communal nests are home to as many as 40 parakeets each, United Illuminating captures the pigeon-size birds with a net and turns them over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which kills them with carbon dioxide.

That has outraged bird lovers.

"We've lived with these birds since we moved here eight years ago," Cook said. "We love them. They are exotic and beautiful. Me and my neighbors, we feed these birds."

Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals, said: "This is a $125,000 senseless and immoral project. There is no crime that these lovely birds have committed that would warrant their senseless killing."

More than 130 of the pigeon-sized birds have been killed in the first weeks of the eradication project, which began last month. United Illuminating hopes to have all the nests down in January.

Four fires over the past four years and about a dozen outages per year are blamed on the nests, which can cause a short-circuit if built too close to a transformer, utility spokesman Al Carbone said.

"We've gotten calls from people on life support, worried about these nests causing their power to go out," he said. "They are on pins and needles."

The bird lovers are not convinced the parakeets are as bad as the utility says, and contend killing is not necessary -- only the nests should be removed.

"These are very smart birds," said Laura Simon, urban wildlife director for the Humane Society of the United States. "If you harass them correctly at the right time of year, they will learn not to build on the poles and will move someplace else."

Florida Power & Light Co. has been struggling with monk parakeets for years. The utility has been working with the University of Florida to discourage nest-building on power equipment, and has tried using stuffed birds of prey, chemical repellents, noise, even odors, all without success. Sometimes the utility takes the nests down and kills the birds, spokeswoman Pat Davis said.

In New York City, the nests are a problem for Consolidated Edison in Brooklyn. The utility removes the nests but does not capture the birds, spokesman Chris Olert said.

"When we get to the nests the birds routinely take off," he said.

Although UI agreed in front of a judge today (thanks to Friends of Animals) to stop capturing and handing over the birds to the USDA to be gassed this year, they will continue to tear down nests. Although they buckled under the publicity, it's freezing outside -- hence, they continue their heartless actions. Before any new roundups in January, we'll be back in court. More will be coming out through the news over the next couple of days, in the Connecticut Post and in state, national, and international press (AP). The parakeets have been heard all over the country and the world, including in London's Guardian newspaper. Professor Dwight Smith, as much a dedicated advocate as a learned biologist, has supported our legal action in state court today as the expert witness. Smith's dedication to the well-being of the parakeets shows that fine scientists not only study life, but celebrate it.

What is very unclear is that UI claims they've killed all the birds already, but also claim they've only killed 200. They claim that the 103 nests they plan to exterminate have, on average, 40 birds per nest. So how do these numbers make any sense? I don't understand.  They claim they have been gassing 20-22 nests per day since this business started on 11/17.  Now they plan to take down the nests, leaving the birds to possibly freeze to death unless alternate housing arrangements can be made.  We're trying to get people in West Haven to put up alternate nesting platforms.  Marc Johnson is coming down to distribute plans and show people how to build them.  Hopefully some of the birds will be able to bunk in at other nests. 

I still haven't quite figured out if this was a victory or not today. How long will it take for these birds to find new shelter? If there are still birds alive in these nests, then tearing them down without gassing them should not kill them unless the tearing down itself would kill them. Knowing UI, they would probably choose to do it at night rather than during the day when the birds are out of the nests. This way any additional bird deaths would be considered incidental collateral damage, not direct killings. We need to keep an eye on this.

Amy

The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke

Monk Parakeets Moving Inland-- Nesting In Newtown? It's Only A Matter Of Time By Dottie Evans The monk parakeet, a native of South America, was introduced in the United States in the 1960s and has learned to survive in urban areas. --J.P. Boissy photo According to most people currently embroiled in what has become the monk parakeet vs public utility community relations crisis, there are two things that all feuding parties can agree upon: there are no easy solutions, and the problem of monk parakeets building large nests around utility pole transformers is not going to go away any time soon. No one wants to kill the exotic and resourceful birds, yet already more than 140 have been captured by United Illuminating (UI), a southwestern Connecticut utility company based in New Haven. Following capture and destruction of their nests, the birds are then handed over to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for humane euthanasia by carbon dioxide. Monk parakeets are not native to this country so they are not protected by law. They originated in South America, and were brought to the United States in the 1960s as pets or for zoos, and several escaped or were released from captivity into the wild. Over the following decades they have become accustomed to living near urban centers, including the towns of West Haven, Milford, Stratford, and Bridgeport on Connecticut's southeast coast. The latest reports put them as far north as New Britain. Their numbers have gradually but steadily increased. The parakeets seem to have discovered that utility pole transformers emit a measure of warmth in the coldest winters. Add the fact that they are prolific breeders and you've got an invasive species that is fast approaching pest status - at least, in the utility company's view. Audubon Opts For Noninvolvement Patrick Comins, director of bird conservation at Bent of the River Audubon Center in Southbury, predicts it will not be long before the monk parakeet problem comes closer to home. "They've started to move inland up the Connecticut River. It's only a matter of time before they get as far as Southbury and Newtown. They have become established in the Chicago area, as well, so we know hard winters are not going to stop them," Mr Comins said. Mr Comins believes that United Illuminating "has a good reason for what they are doing." "They've tried alternatives, but the birds keep coming back and rebuilding," he said. He added that the Audubon Society does not officially oppose the destruction of an invasive species. At the same time, it does not actively assist in the eradication program. "Our only involvement would be if the [monk parakeets] were doing ecological harm to [native] species. Then we would get involved in supporting efforts to control them. We would support any effort to manage wildlife that is for a good reason," he added. The parakeets' large, intricate nests made of twigs and sticks range from about ten pounds to up to 200 pounds, and they can contain as many as 40 to 50 birds. United Illuminating claims that over the past two years, there have been two fires and from eight to 12 power outages resulting from the nests. "Our chief concern is public health and safety," Mr Al Carbone, spokesman for the company has said. Bird condo at the flagpole? Imagine a huge nest of sticks and twigs surrounding this electrical transformer nearby the Newtown Meeting House that might someday be home to a colony of some 30 to 40 monk parakeets. --Bee Photo, Evans Public Funds To Kill Parakeets In keeping with its mission to deliver safe and effective electric power to its customers, utility company officials have undertaken the eradication policy in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Utility workers poke holes in the nests and remove the birds at night. The workers put the birds into bags that are then delivered to the USDA, which gasses them with carbon dioxide. Officials say that simply releasing the birds back into the wild is not a solution since they remember where the nest site was and soon rebuild. But animal rights activists believe that any solution would be better than outright killing, and they maintain that the utility company should simply remove the nests without harming the birds, and then pursue regular removal as new nests are built as part of their routine maintenance procedures. "I find this monk parakeet situation most troubling," said Dara Reid, director of Wildlife-In-Crisis, an animal rescue and rehabilitation group based in Weston. "These birds are sentient beings and they deserve to be treated humanely. Removing invasive bird species by draconian means should never be an option. "USDA agents are killing the birds at taxpayer's expense for the benefit of private industry...The $125,000 program supported by both Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)...targets 103 nests throughout the state," stated Ms Reid in a press release published November 20. "I am hopeful that UI will eventually succumb to public pressure as did New Jersey's and New York's [utility companies] and simply dismantle the nests each year instead of killing the birds...This would be a more rational solution," Ms Reid added. Patrick Comins at the Southbury Audubon Center agreed this might be a better course, while restating that the Audubon Society was not officially involved in the monk parakeet eradication program. "They could wait until spring and remove nests from utility poles before breeding season," he said during an interview December 5. "This would be the most humane approach toward solving the public safety issue. We should also note that only 10 to 20 percent of all the monk parakeet nests are built on utility poles. A large portion of monk parakeets build their nests in big fir trees and oaks," he added. Native Carolina Parakeets Now Extinct While the nonnative monk parakeets, Myiopsitta monachus, are relatively new to the avian scene in America, the country's best-known native parrot species considered common when John James Audubon explored the continent was the Carolina parakeet, Conuropsis carolinensis, now extinct. Like their South American monk parakeet cousins, the Carolina parakeets represented a similar example of a prolific avian species taking advantage of favorable environmental circumstances. With the spread of agriculture during early settlement, this brilliantly colored bird developed a liking for the seeds of many kinds from fruit and grain crops. Because of this, and because of its fatal habit of gathering in great flocks and descending upon the farmers' fields to eat the grain, the species was subjected to wholesale shooting and slaughter. Once common in the southeastern United States, the Carolina parakeet became increasingly scarce as deforestation reduced its habitat. It was already rare by the mid 1880s, and its last stand took place in Florida where, in 1920, a flock of 30 birds was the last ever seen. Lesser known native parrots that still exist in this country include thick-billed parrots that feed on certain types of pine seeds and live in areas of Arizona and northwestern Mexico. Since their range has grown smaller, thick-billed parrots are now only very rarely found in the United States. In southern Texas, green parakeets that are seed and fruit eaters have expanded their range into Mexico where some wild populations have mixed with escaped birds.

Group Sues To Bar UI From Killing Parakeets

By GARY LIBOW
Courant Staff Writer

January 14 2006

NEW HAVEN -- Darien-based Friends of Animals filed a lawsuit in Superior Court Thursday seeking to permanently bar United Illuminating from "gassing, killing or capturing" monk parakeets.

In mid-November, UI began destroying the first of 103 nests atop utility poles in a $125,000 campaign to exterminate a large portion of Connecticut's monk parakeet population.

UI said the parakeets are a safety hazard, causing about eight blackouts annually and several transformer fires. The birds nest near the transformers for heat.

The birds are descendants of South American birds imported as pets that escaped captivity at a New York airport in the late-1960s.

In West Haven, utility workers destroyed several nests, first poking holes in the massive stick and twig structures and capturing the colorful birds.

The utility handed over the species to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which euthanized the parakeets with carbon dioxide.

UI agreed last month to postpone the eradication program. The utility intended to destroy 79 nests in West Haven, seven in Milford, 10 in Stratford and seven in Bridgeport.

The seven-page lawsuit, which also seeks monetary damages, states monk parakeets have been a wild resident of Connecticut for 30 to 40 years and have become enmeshed in the native ecosystem.

UI could not be reached for comment Friday night.

Friends of Animals argues the parakeets have become "integral components" in the food chain or ecological food web of local biological communities.

A number of Connecticut predators, such as the peregrine falcon and sharp-shinned Hawk, feed on the parakeets, the lawsuit states.

"The presence of the Monk Parakeet, a strict herbivore, is a benign effect on other local species and may actually increase numbers and a variety of wildlife in an otherwise ecologically barren urban environment," according to the legal action.

The parakeets also consume such non-desirable weed species as sycamore, sumac and shadbush, the animal rights group contends.

Friends of Animals states UI has failed to implement feasible and prudent methods of dissuading monk parakeets from nesting on utility poles.

Routine maintenance by utility workers to remove pre-nest structures or install devices to prevent or dissuade nesting would curb the problem, the lawsuit states.

"We are asking for a judgment declaring the law requires UI to implement routine maintenance and prevent nesting, and a permanent injunction against the capturing and killing of the monk parakeets," said attorney Derek V. Oatis of Manchester.

Hartford Courant

luciedove,

What was the outcome of the "Quaker parrot" killings?  I love Quaker parrots, and I just started reading/writing in the "forums" this year. Please let me know, I would love to know. We have wild Quakers and other parrots that are flying wild in my area (FL) too.....I love to see them just flying so freely, and the way that they talk to the "others" in their family. It's just so neat! Were any of these birds rescued? at all?

Thanks,

Valerie

Marc Johnson of Foster Parrots Sanctuary designed and built platforms to simulate the real nests, and the parakeets are using those.  Unfortunately the Illuminating Company of Connecticut killed close to 200 parakeets and destroyed many dozens of nests. The nests that the parakeets build take so much effort and time to build. 

In the Chicago area, the Greater Chicago Cage Bird Club (and other organizations) work WITH the Utility Co's to remove baby Quakers from such nests before their destruction. In some cases, the actual nests are relocated or the adults "encouraged" to nest elsewhere......other than in their precious transformers!!!! I wonder who/what "they'll be coming for next........in the DARKNESS of NITE" .........on the East Coast?!?!?!?!?

By Ken Dixon, published in the Connecticut Post
June 6, 2006

Utility claims nonviolent program means suit should be dismissed

In addition to the 103 nests targeted last fall, UI spokesman Albert Carbone said UI took down another 16 nests at the request of customers. Surviving birds have started rebuilding 39 nests in West Haven, Stratford, and Bridgeport, but not Milford.

NEW HAVEN—The United Illuminating Co. is now tearing down monk parakeet nests without capturing or killing the birds, lawyers for the utility told a Superior Court Judge on Monday.

But an animal rights group still intends to pursue its lawsuit to prevent the type of catch-and-slaughter program that destroyed 179 parrots in 103 nests last November and December.