by Mercedes J
The devil himself
Last Saturday morning at approximately 7:30am, I groggily rolled over on my comfy king size bed and relished the fact that it was the weekend. Since I did not have to get up to do anything of significance, I relaxed and starfished across the mattress.
*Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!* What the hell is that God awful racket? I tried to return to my peaceful slumber but the raucous cacophony from some mysterious creatures continued. The noise proceeded for the rest of my once peaceful morning until I finally went outside to my balcony only to see a flight of unidentifiable green whoosh past me. I soon realized that my home was being raided by a flock of Monk Parakeets, aka little tiny spawns of Satan.
Monk Parakeets look innocent enough and some Ft. Lauderdalians may even describe these feral birds as cute. These small green and white siblings to the parrot are native to Argentina and surrounding South American countries. This species of bird was brought to South Florida in the late 60s for the pet trade. However, many of the parakeets escaped bird sanctuaries during storms and/or were intentionally released by their owners. Now, South Florida is estimated to house over 100,000 of the birds.
The Monk Parakeet is the only parrot that builds a stick nest in a tree (or the side of one’s apartment complex), that could potentially reach the size of a small car. A small colony of screeching parakeets are currently hard at work building the home of their dreams directly above my boudoir window.
It is not suggested that anyone try to destroy a Monk Parakeet’s nest by themselves, as the birds are likely to reconstruct their homes as soon as it is taken down. The best solution for preventing parakeet communities from being formed in your area is to notify a bird removal/critter control agency to remove the nests as soon as you notice them.
If these parakeets are going to continue to wake me up at the crack of dawn, then I am going to play music as loud as possible while they are asleep at night. While I wait for a peaceful removal of my new unwelcome neighbors by critter control, a war of woman vs. parakeet has begun.
