rfmcdonald | [URBAN NOTE] "Feral parakeets taking over London, prompting concerns they'll push out native birds" (Reply)

Pierre Bertrand's CBC report notes the spread of feral parakeets in London. I recognize the environmental issues involved, but I also admire the intrepid nature of these avian migrants. Is anyone else reminded of the parrots of Brooklyn?

Reclining in the chair of his home office in Farnham, England, Keith Betton says he'd be happy to look out and see one — and only one — ringed-neck parakeet feeding from his backyard birdfeeder.

"I don't particularly wish to have non-native species in Britain," says the 55-year-old, an avid bird-watcher since childhood and vice-president of the British Trust for Ornithology. "If I could choose to never have them arrive, that would be my choice, but they are here."

In London, parakeets are everywhere and their populations are spreading throughout the U.K. and Europe, prompting concerns the invasive species could harm native ecosystems.

Betton, who lives about 40 kilometres southwest of London, says he wouldn't feel dismayed if the invasive birds were to settle near his country home, but he wishes the birds had never been introduced to the U.K. in the first place.

"It's a big stage entrance when they arrive," says Betton. "They are like the person who walks in the room, makes too much noise and then leaves."