To have been so easily seduced?

[MadHattersWineParty]

By a pair of parakeets

They are bloody noisy buggers. But so pretty. DP is making fun of me as I am absolutely fasincated by them. They're not supposed to be on the feeder as its for small birds but they have totally bowled me over! They are eating the sunflower hearts.

They have visited every morning this week and they sit there ever so nicely.

I still love the more common garden birds we get too. The flats are at the back of an industrial estate in suburban south-west london so it's great that there's so much wildlife.

Just wanted to share as I was so excited by 'my' new birds!

This is from a 2009 article:

Although there is some concern that their presence is adversely affecting the native bird species, such as starlings and woodpeckers, there has been no evidence to support this, as yet.

It's believed that there are about 30,000 Ring-necked Parakeets living in the South East of England, mainly in Surrey, with some flocks also sighted in Sussex and Kent.

The RSPB estimates that the population will rise to nearly 50,000 by 2010!

I was so excited once when I looked out of our window to see two beautiful, exotic looking birds in the back garden. I thought they must be incredibly rare, possibly even pet tropical birds, escaped from someone's home.

I scanned books and websites to identify them.

They were waxwings.

Oh but I love waxwings! I think they are exotic, the way they descend here to gorge on berries!

Oh just looked up waxwings- they are cool!

I don't think I've ever seen one. But I'm not very observant with the birds - just the big bright green squawky ones!

Aren't they in some animated movie? I don't watch many movies but I'm sure I've seen them.

We are having a 'waxwing winter' this year - lots of reports. Not quite on the scale of the huge 'invasion' in 2010-2011. But it looks like everyone stands a reasonable chance of seeing them this winter. Bloody Scandinavian immigrants, coming over here and eating our berries, etc etc

I really hope I see one a waxwing!

No parrots this morning, too wet and rainy for them to visit

Waxwings most likely in the north and east but they'll spread south and west through winter. They often show up in supermarket car-parks and around garden centres (no, really!) - anywhere where lots of berry-bearing trees and bushes have been planted, especially rowan trees.

And while you're looking for waxwings in the trees around the supermarkets, shopping centres etc, also look out for pied wagtails, especially late in the day - they roost in big flocks in places like this (slightly warmer in town than in the countryside). They are very noisy and look like living Christmas decorations :)

I think my WW sighting was 2011; it was in Spring I recall. None so far this winter, but I'll keep an eye out, now I know that there's an irruction this year.

They're welcome to our garden berries - we have elder, wild rose 🌹 and cotoneaster - there always seems plenty to go round!

Of course the usual crew of sparrows, blue, great and coal tits, blackbird, collared doves, wood and town pigeons, and of course my wee pal Robin Redbreast, who hops out to say hello every time I go into the garden lately, are always around, but those glamorous immigrants, eh!

NB we did once have a pair of goldfinches, on the mostly ignored nyger seed feeder that I put out to attract them. They stayed for about five seconds before DH went out into the garden and scared them away, never to return again. Twat.

We had goldfinches here but would they touch the nyger seed I put out for them? Would they bugger!

I love wagtails too, see then individually occasionally around here but never seen a flock. How pretty!

The first visitor we got to the feeder was a pair of tiny scrappy blue tits, and they still visit regularly- they're all grown up now they seem to hang around with our resident pair of great-tits.

"I love wagtails too"

Oh yes - we see them in the park along the road, but never in the garden.

So how do you get finches to come to your garden, I wonder?

I wouldn't mind seeing some parakeets here in the Midlands, would brighten up the day.

I do get robins, blue tits, great tits, sparrows, etc in the garden, and we do have wagtails around here as well. Wouldn't mind seeing the waxwings, now that I know what they look like, so will keep an eye out. (If they like rowan berries, we have a young tree at the front, it has lots of berries this year.)

I'd be beside myself with excitement if they were in my garden!

SE London here too, never seen any exotic birds

Plenty of starlings and magpies here, obviously.

At my parents' home in NW England I used to see Jays and both green and great spotted woodpeckers. I've never seen them up here, though.

There's a jay rasping away somewhere outside right now. Can't see it though!

When I had a small garden before I moved here, (same part of London) I used to get visited by a jay. I called him Marvin Jay

I'd leave him out monkey nuts and he got quite bold swooping down for them when I was in the garden. One winter he brought 3 mates round for nuts too! I really miss him!

@ 'Marvin Jay'. That's amused me way more than it probably should.

We're central/west London and they've been spread out as far as Richmond to forest hill for years. This year we have them on our street! Our budgies go crazy when they hear them.

I'm in south East London. And see them alot in the green chain walks.

Aw! How funny that the buddies get excited when they hear parakeets! That's cute.

There's certainly a lot of them around, I just love having them pop up to my window!

Budgies, even!

There's a parrot sanctuary near Lincoln that has a walk-in aviary and there are about 25 of these parakeets in there. All different colours - green, yellow, white and blue. They come flapping straight over to you for seeds - it's amazing how heavy two or three of them are on your shoulder

Oh lord, I was wondering how heavy they were!

They'll probably end up breaking the feeder. Maybe I should order another to have on standby!

They are quite heavy, certainly compared to starlings and house sparrows! They'll be even heavier when they've eaten all your tasty seeds