Parrots and Green Parakeets in Texas

 

  While not as many species as South Florida, South Texas has wild parrot species. Some are ABA countable because they have been wild breeding populations for many years. Others are not countable because they are considered escapees or they have not established breeding colonies long enough to be counted.

   There are two ways to see parrots. One is to hope one flies over you. This does happen and I saw many ebird reports of people seeing parrots. Usually this is in the evening when they go back to their colonies to roost.

   The other option  is to actually go to the colonies and watch them fly in. At sunset parrots fly back to the same roost every night. On the day we went to South Padre Island and the Palo Alto Battlefield we went to Brownsville's Olivera Park for sunset. Multiple species of parrots fly into this park to sleep for the night. Only one species is countable the Red Crowned Amazon. They are the most abundant species. You have to weed through the hundreds of them to see the others. The other two species we saw at this location were Yellow Headed Amazon and White Fronted Amazon. 

   The spectacle is amazing to see. It only lasts a few minutes and the birds fly up into the trees. Also, getting photos is tough because it gets dark quickly in the winter. Any photos in the sky suck due to the lack of light. My photos of the Yellow Headed were actually ten minutes before the one of the Red Crowned on the fence. My camera could absorb the light from the green but not the sky. 

   The other negative of taking photos is it happens so fast, you really can't enjoy the spectacle. So I made a point to put my camera down a few times and just enjoy. 

My experience with the Green Parakeets below my photos from Brownsville.

Red Crowned Amazon

Red Crowned Amazon

Yellow Headed Amazon 

White Fronted Amazon

Red Crowned Amazon

Green Parakeet is another countable species. I saw two flying while we were at Edinburg Wetlands. They buzzed right over us and they were gone in a flash. We were also told they fly over a nature center which we went to. We saw a couple but again, the flyovers were so quick I didn't even count them or do an ebird report. After a little research I found out the roost in McAllen near Tremont Street. Our last night we went to see them. Traffic was bad so we got to the spot ten minutes later than I wanted. Also, it was overcast so it got dark really quick.

   

    The roost is along powerline wires at the intersection of multiple strip malls/plazas . We parked in the Hobby Lobby parking lot and walked through the McDonalds lot. The plaza was insane with traffic so we had to be careful crossing any driveway or lot. This area also has thousands of roosting Boat Tailed Grackles so you have to weed through them to find the parrots.

 

   Thousands is no exaggeration of grackles. They are shoulder to shoulder on every wire for a mile in each direction (four directions at an intersection). There were hundreds in each small tree in the McDonalds area. Estimates go up to ten thousand. I personally have never seen so many birds.. 

It didn't take long to find the Green Parakeets. They were on wires near McDonalds. The problem was a photo since it was basically dark with an overcast sky. I got a couple proof photos and made our way to the motel to get ready to leave the next day

Green Parakeets