More bird notes

I saw an article online about parrots living wild in the United States. The question posed was whether this was an urban myth.

We had them in Chicago, although technically they are monk parakeets -- green and about the size of a lovebird. The alley behind St. Thomas Parish had lots of nests -- they like the transformers because it kept them warm in the Midwestern winter, I guess. It was cool to have them around, although it would have been better had they been more colorful and less squawky. We always said they were imitating traffic noise.

The first sighting of Chicago's free-flying monk parakeets dates to 1973. According to local lore, they settled in Hyde Park after escaping from a cage at O'Hare International Airport. Apparently such a group did escape from an airport in New York. Experts suggest that the Hyde Park population more likely sprang from the escape or even intentional release of pet monk parakeets, which, unlike some other small parrots, have poor mimicking skills and high-pitched screams. Adding to the birds' legend, the late Mayor Harold Washington is said to have directed police to protect the colorful creatures that flew outside his apartment overlooking "Parrot Park" at Lake Shore Drive and 53rd Street. (This is only a couple of blocks from where I had my apartment in Chicago.) Hyde Park's monk parakeet population has grown to about 200, with 80 nests perched on power transformers and in the trees of Parrot Park and of Washington Park.

As I was driving home from a long day at the law office -- they asked me to work all day to help catch up with some things -- I was thinking about the parakeets and that I hadn't seen any interesting birds around here lately. When I got home, Tom was sitting on the front porch waiting for his daughter Rebecca and her husband who were coming for a visit. I sat with him for a while and was rewarded by seeing my first hummingbird buzzing around and using the feeder several times. I think it was the male -- Tom says he has seen a male and a female -- but it wasn't as bright as the one in the picture. Still, it was a nice treat under the circumstances.