Fairfield, Connecticut: Monk Parrots in Connecticut

There has been a row over the wild parrots. The electric utility enacted a program to remove the large, heavy stick nest structures from utility poles, and by the way euthanize the parrots. Seems the nests caused electrical short circuits. The Audubon Society gave its approval, and the Feds brought their mini gas chambers to knock off a few green birds. The animal loving population went ballistic! Program suspended after a few weeks, confrontations, protesters (yes in Connecticut!).

Take our birds, please! We, the locals, don't appreciate them like the tourist population does, so take some home with you.

Tipster Kaye was right about the proliferation of parrots loose in the Connecticut shore towns along Long Island Sound. The version I heard was that they are escaped Monk Parrots from an air freight cargo at JFK airport in New York. They flocked to the greater Bridgeport/Fairfield area in the 1980's. I saw about 18 of them at Seaside Park, Bridgeport one lunch hour in Nov. 2004. I phoned the Audobon Society HQ in NYC and learned that story.

The parrots in Milford are becoming a serious nuisance, clogging utility lines, chimneys and trees and generally making 'parrot mess' in areas. My sister (city employee) says these birds also compete with local birds for food and shelter, causing the gulls to fly inland. She says the Public works and utility guys hate taking the nests down because of the size and weight! My understanding is these are offspring of the ones that lived two towns away in Bridgeport, CT, living at St. Mary's by the sea. Those flew in from Brazil many years ago. I thought it was neat seeing these parrots -- what an odd place for a tropical bird.

The parakeets are all over the shoreline in West Haven. We have three nests on our street. The birds build their nests on the transformers on top of the utility poles. This keeps the birds warm throughout the winter. They are very large nests made with small twigs and bark. One of the trees in our yard has branches stripped by the parakeets. They are messy and loud, but fun to watch and quite a conversation piece! When we bought our house, we were warned not to grow any fruit trees because they attract the birds, but they are everywhere anyway....

These loud, bright green birds can also be found in Fairfield on the grounds of Fairfield University. They mainly reside in a large tree by the chapel on top of the main hill.