Noisy neighbours? Ring-necked parakeets

Some may condemn them as pests, others as chirpy, cheerful relatively recent residents of Britain. Like or loathe them, ring-necked parakeets (RNPs) have become a permanent fixture in urban and semi-rural spaces across the UK.

Anecdotal evidence alone would suggest numbers are rising. Five years ago, I’d have never spotted any in my south Manchester neighbourhood. Then two would fly over occasionally, squawking noisily as they darted across the garden. Now, four sweep through regularly. 

Although they have spread countrywide since they were first spotted in the wild in the mid-1900s – far from their native Asia and sub-Saharan Africa - RNPs are gregarious birds that prefer to congregate rather than live solitary lives.

Most of the UK’s population, however, originated from Pakistan and northern India, the Natural History Museum (NHM) notes, imported here as exotic pets. “None made it under wing power,” it adds.

Their largest populations are reportedly the south-east, notably London’s Richmond Park,  Didsbury, south Manchester, and Victoria Park, Glasgow, although they have settled in many city and suburban parks, large gardens and orchards across most English counties, much of Wales, the Scottish borders and Northern Ireland, the NHM  states.

National agencies agree that RNPs pose no discernible threat to native bird species. The RSPB takes a strident stance on the issue. “No evidence (exists) of significant impacts to native wildlife from RNP in the UK,” it told Pitchcare.

That’s not the case in mainland Europe however. RNPs have affected bat roosting sites in southern Spain, for example, where fighting between ‘invader’ and ‘defender’ ended in deaths for the residents, reportedly. 

Fairing “particularly well” near humans, the birds have become habituated, the NHM says, and will take food from your hand in sites such as Kensington Gardens, while “thousands of them settle overnight in Hither Green Cemetery, London”. Total numbers were estimated to be 12,000 breeding pairs in 2016 and rising (British Trust for Ornithology data).

Nesting typically in tree hollows, cavities or large nest boxes, Psittacula krameri, which also covers the rose-ringed parakeet, boasts a competitive instinct and opportunistic nature. “They can be aggressive and violent,” states Florin Feneru, NHM identification and advisory officer, “and have been known to kill small mammals, such as bats in tree hollows.”  About 40cm long, they have a powerful beak for breaking open seed – “tough characters that fight to win,” the Museum adds.

Exotically plumaged with a cheery demeanour, RNPs may well fall into the same category of lovable rogue as the ever prevalent grey squirrel. But like those wily rodents, they can become a pest when they interact too closely with our lives, personal or professional.

Resident reports emerge periodically of just how intrusive a flock of chattering parakeets can be when you live close by them, particularly when in flight or before bedding down for the night. More vexing perhaps is the question of whether or not RNPs pose a threat to our native birds and, if so, what measures can we take to deter them from being so.

North West golf clubs are certainly aware of RNPs’ presence. Dunham Forest greens staff spot them regularly, so does Lymm, whose course manager James Dennet notes: “We have a flock of twelve ring-necked parakeets currently and try to scare them away from woodpecker nests, albeit not very successfully. Although an invasive species, there is no official stance on them so it is a bit of a grey area.”

Accepting that the parakeets are a permanent fixture here, the RSPB wants tighter controls to help prevent invasive species crossing borders via human intervention, commenting: “Overall, we do not support control of RNPs as they are so well established, with little evidence of ecosystem impact in the UK, that it would not be the best use of conservation resources at this time.”

“What is important,” it adds, “is future prevention of invasive species being introduced by humans. Welcoming the creation of the Non-Native Species Inspectorate, set up in 2021 to tighten border control of imported invasive species, the Society needs the inspectorate to expand its role “to cover more pathways of introduction, with special attention on Freeports, where there is elevated risk on new species arriving”.

“We also need it to expand to become a centre of excellence and best practice on INNS (invasive, non-native species) management more widely.”

The control programme the UK introduced for the monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachis), which settled in London in the 1990s, looks unlikely to be repeated for RNPs, the Natural History Museum concludes, “although conservation charities are watching them carefully”.

RNPs tend to stay quiet around nesting sites to avoid the attention of predators such as tawny owls and sparrowhawks. They start nesting in January and February laying three or four eggs, “earlier than native species”, says the NHM, and so may outcompete them.

Dr Hazel Jackson, a research affiliate at the University of Kent and a parakeet specialist, hesitates to call RNPs a problem in the UK, although pointing out that “they may compete with native nuthatches and woodpeckers for cavity hole nest sites”. Despite “lots of anecdotal evidence through video footage for example”, hard evidence of this comes only from Belgium, she states.

More scientific study is needed to determine whether they are an invasive species causing harm to native wildlife, she concludes. RNP adaptability enables the birds to thrive in new locations (they are found in some 35 countries outside their native range, the NHM reports) feeding on seeds, fruit, flowers and young buds, even tree bark and blossom.

“Ring-tailed parakeets are here to stay,” Dr Jackson believes. “After 50 plus years, there are no obvious and significant impacts to UK wildlife reported so far,” remembering that “they are a second favourite (prey) of London’s peregrine falcons”.

As increasingly today’s guardians of wildlife and species diversity, golf clubs particularly can do worse than maintain a watching brief on the impact of RHPs on native species – perhaps contributing to the Big Garden Birdwatch annual survey – to help collate the trend in numbers.  Afterall, courses offer a fair match with the mature trees and mixed hedges the parakeets favour in their native habitat.

RNPs are an invasive species, says Dr David Noble, principal ecologist - monitoring at the British Trust for Ornithology, but their impact is far from fully proven.

A BTO 2011/12 survey found RNPs had had no impact on native species in the UK. “The places where they are increasing are not the places where woodpeckers, for example, are decreasing,” Dr Noble states.

RNPs’ potential to compete is “overrated” sometimes, he argues. “Great spotted woodpecker populations are in fact increasing, up 137%  over the last 25 years, but the lesser spotted is not doing well. However, parakeets don’t usually encounter these. Green woodpecker numbers rose just 2% in that time but have fallen 25% in the last ten years.”

“RNP numbers have risen 1960% from the early to mid-1990s, but 90% in the last ten years.”

“Some reports indicate their negative effect on biodiversity and economics, but numbers of RNPs have passed the point where they could be eradicated. It’s a question of control,” he adds. 

Shooting was the method of choice for other species of parakeet but this is unsuitable in urban spaces, and besides, says Dr Noble, “Most of us like parakeets. They are an urban bird, loud and gregarious, whose numbers have risen very quickly over the last 30 to 40 years within the London circle.” Harsh winters, such as 2017’s Beast from the East can hit them though, he notes, “although being adaptable, they will spread north with climate change.”

Food is not a determining factor, Dr Noble continues. “Bird feeding offers a potentially huge extra source, so we don’t believe that parakeets eating from feeders would negatively impact native species. If the food goes quickly, feeders are soon refilled. Competition for nest cavities is the main focus.”

The BTO avian data comes largely from its Breeding Bird survey, conducted by volunteers annually at some 4,000, 1km square, randomly selected quadrats including amenity and sports sites, as well as urban buildings.

Given golf clubs’ rising importance as wildlife habitats, “the survey could be developed further to focus on golf courses for example,” Dr Noble says, to assess how various species, including RNPs, are faring in the UK.

Monitored every six years, the parakeet population is largely restricted to urban green spaces, although RNPs can travel long distances to communal roosts, “and will make exploratory visits to bigger spaces that may offer good habitats”.

“We should keep a watch on RNPs,” Dr Noble concludes. “If they become so numerous, they will have greater impact on native bird populations than currently the case.”

Ref: Natural History Museum: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/ring-necked-parakeets-in-london-and-uk.html#:~:text=’Ring%2Dnecked%20parakeets%20are%20cavity,’