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The Little Green Invaders....

Next time you take a stroll through the Surrey countryside, keep your eyes on the skies! The county is being invaded by little green creatures from far, far away....

Look up into the treetops at well-known Surrey beauty spots such as Virginia Water, Richmond Park or Hampton Court and you will probably spot our emerald invaders! And if at first, you can't see them, you will certainly hear them!

Flocks of colourful Ring-necked (Rose-necked - Psittacula krameri) Parakeets are becoming a common sight and have been resident in our county, for longer than you might think!

The birds originate in the Himalayas

You may assume they need a more tropical climate than Surrey has to offer, but as the birds originate from the foothills of the Himalayas, they find our mild winters easy to cope with.

They eat berries, buds, nuts and seeds, all of which are in plentiful supply in the area, both in the wild and in garden bird feeders. And due to their size - approximately 40 cm (16 inches) from top to tip of tail, they are able to compete for food and nesting spaces with our native birds.

Although there is some concern that their presence is adversely affecting the native bird species, such as starlings and woodpeckers, there has been no evidence to support this, as yet.

It’s believed that there are about 30,000 Ring-necked Parakeets living in the South East of England, mainly in Surrey, with some flocks also sighted in Sussex and Kent.

The RSPB estimates that the population will rise to nearly 50,000 by 2010!

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INTERESTING FACTS

Ring-necked Parakeets are currently protected by law.

Painshill Park

Painshill Park Vineyard, near Cobham, apparently spends £5,000 a year on bird scaring devices and repairing damage caused by parakeets, after the green birdies ate grapes that were due to make 3,000 bottles of wine.

Esher Rugby Club was the place to see up to 7000 Ring-necked Parakeets at play, until some unrelated tree surgery destroyed their roosts. The girl's team at the club was named after the birds.
However, not all Esher residents were fans - a footpath had to be closed due to the amount of parakeet poo that had been deposited on it!

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MENACE OR MARVEL?

Grahame Madge from the RSPB visits Burhill Golf Club in Surrey - a stronghold for the green birds. Watch the BBC News TV report.

BBC News - The Green Menace >

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WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?

Various suggestions have been made as to how these birds came to be in the wild:

One popular rumour is that a few birds, who presumably didn't want a career in the movies, fled from Shepperton Film Studios, during the making of the John Houston film "The African Queen", with Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, in 1951.

Musician Jimi Hendrix has been blamed too! He allegedly released a pair of parakeets into the skies above Carnaby Street, in the 1960's.

Flocks which first appeared in the London/Thames Valley area in the 80's, led to the theory that parakeet escapees had broken out of incoming cargo at Heathrow Airport, and made a winged dash to freedom, past UK customs!

But the likelyhood is, they have been around for over a century, and their origins in the UK are far less glamorous, than the rumours suggest. A pair were first recorded as having bred in the wild in 1855, and sightings have been steadily growing since the 1930's.

As a species, the birds don't tend to stray too far from where they hatched, so the likelihood is they are from more than one pair of domestic birds, who made it into the wild, probably by being released deliberately.

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BIRDS ON FILM

Unilke the "ones that got away" from Bogart and Hepburn, some Ring-necked Parakeets are not camera shy.... Watch the YouTube footage of the birds in Richmond.

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MORE RING-NECKED PARAKEET FACTS FROM THE WEB

Read more articles on the little green birds, and how they have managed to make Surrey home.

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last updated: 30/12/2008 at 14:44
created: 30/12/2008

Have Your Say

Have you seen Ring-Necked Parakeets in Surrey or Sussex? Tell us about it here. How do you think they came to be in the wild?

Ken Davies
My attention was drawn to this bird when I saw several of the species in the closed-off gardeners' area in Hyde Park, London, last year. They were gathering around a bird feeder in a couple of trees in front of a small war memorial where I had noticed some squirrels running around.

Alan D
Some mornings around 7am and earlier as the summer approaches I hear and sometime see in the large trees surrounding the A23 at Horley disturbance caused by either Rooks or Crows "clashing" with the green invaders and to be honest its a refreshing sight to see something different flying about. The parakeets always fly north when they give up so maybe they`re the Redhill flock as mentioned already ... I had known of and have seen the birds in Richmond Park and around Hampton Court and it was only though this that I recognised what they were over Horley...

Jan
We have seen groups of the parakeets in the tall trees in our garden in Redhill for the past two years, mainly first thing in the morning, and late afternoon, but they have never been seen on our bird table. We have plenty of other birds, too, so they don't seem to be causing too much of a problem, as yet. They lend a bit of colour to the garden, and they don't seem too much of a nuisance, so far.

Julie, Surrey
I live close to Esher Rugby Club, where the largest numbers of parakeets can be found. The most common visitors to my bird table are starlings so they seem to be having no adverse effect. I also regularly photograph a green woodpecker in my garden who comes to feed from the ground.

MS
Our fruit and nut farmers are already suffering because of Goverment inaction.Is this 'Grey Squirrel' of the skies going to be our new House Sparrow? I know my preferance!

JG
I live in Chipstead - a largely rural area about 5 miles North of Redhill. They are a common site here and seem to live happily alongside the other birds.

David Jo
I lived in New Malden about 8 years ago and I remember I saw them in Richmond Park and thought it must be someone's pet but now I know.

paul greener
I have been working around west london for the last 27 years,and have noticed the parakeets expand their teritory all along the thames and beyond,i live in woking,goldsworth park and they are now regular visitors(daily)over the last two years basis.Better than magpies.

Jane
They fly over our house in their hundreds every evening just before dark. This is in Redhill

Mike Davies
There is still a flock in Redhill - I am seeing several birds every day in and around our garden - haven't yet seen more than 10 in one go but very recognisable from their shrieking.

Mary Tassell
I'm not from England so have no opinion of whether these birds are a nuisance or not, but I must say... They sure are pretty. Thank you BBC. I really did need a bit of cheer today.

Anne Wade
There is a flock that is going round trees in Redhill. They stayed one night only in a tree next to our house. Perhaps they did not like the neighbourhood.

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