Ring- Necked Parakeet numbers have continued to increase nationwide and in North- East England.
According to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), there are around 12000 breeding pairs around the United Kingdom. While it is hard to estimate how many birds there are exactly in the North- East, they have been sighted in multiple areas such as Leazes Park, Wallsend and Northumberland Park.
The Ring Necked Parakeet is an invasive species that originates in in Asia and Africa and established a population in the United Kingdom due to being a popular pet and managing to escape.
Since the population of Ring- Necked Parakeet started to blow up there has been debate surrounding whether the Parakeet’s have become a pest and even whether they should be culled.
They are between 38- 42 cm in length, making them larger than the average British garden bird like House Sparrows and Blue Tits, which are regular visitors to garden feeders across the UK.
When Ring- Necked Parakeets arrive in their flocks they can often frighten the smaller native birds from feeding in peoples garden and steal food in their natural habitats.
I spoke to bird watchers at Gosforth Park Nature Reserve, which is approximately 4 miles outside of Newcastle for their opinions on the population of Ring- Necked Parakeets in the North East.
The first Bird watcher stated: “I personally love to see the Parakeet’s in parks and stuff in the local area, they’re such a surprising and colourful bird to see in our region”.
Another stated: “They’re still at a manageable number around here [North- East England] for now, so to see them is still a rare treat, although if there was more I can see how they could become a problem”.
However, a final bird watcher finds that they are already beginning to cause issues in gardens and around parks, stating: “I’ve had them come into my garden, and at first I was excited about them coming in but eventually I had to buy a cage to surround my bird feeder to stop them scaring the other small birds and making a mess”.
Invasive species can often disrupt ecosystems by competing with other species for habitat and food, ultimately causing a decline in the number of native species.
An example of this is the Grey Squirrel, which originated in America causing the decline of the native Red Squirrel in the United Kingdom by taking their habitat and giving them diseases.
While the Ring- Necked Parakeet is not such a major threat to the local wildlife, their impact on humans in the places they occupy can be a major inconvenience to local communities.
In London, where the species initially managed to maintain a population and have now become extremely common they are often a problem in gardens where they can flock and take food that people have left out for the smaller birds, and ultimately, if their numbers continue to increase at the same rate in the North East the same fate could occur.
