Spain's Newest Psittacines (1 Viewer)

[John Cantelo]

I'm not sure if this belongs here in bird art or elsewhere, but I thought I'd share a much-abbreviated version of a short note on the topic I originally wrote for my blog. It was my first attempt to do some drawings for some years and for fun I experimented with the drawing to get the 'poster effect' I wanted.

Rose-ringed Parakeet*(or*Ring-necked) was first reported breeding in Spain in the*1980s. Most occur in large urban parks often with suitable exotic trees.* The current focus of the population is*Barcelona,*Seville*and many of the cities along the Mediterranean coast (e.g.*Malaga,*Valencia, etc).

Monk Parakeet comes from South America. It is now present in*Madrid*most larger cities or *provincial capitals although the main populations are found in the provinces of Barcelona,*Tarragona,*Valencia,*Alicante,*Malaga*and*Cadiz. *Any population estimate is speculative due to a lack of accurate counts and its widely dispersed population. However, the population in several cities (e.g.*Seville*and*Madrid) appears to be growing.*

The*Nanday*(or*Black-hooded)*Parakeet has scarcely struggled beyond the handful of parks where it was first found in 2003. Barcelona*remains the stronghold with up to*15*individuals being regularly reported in the city's parks (e.g.*Parque de la Ciutadella*&*Parque de Diagonal) in 2012. Elsewhere there have been reports from*Torremolinos*(a pair in 2012) and*Madrid.*

Blue-crowned Parakeets*have been present in*Seville*around the parks of*Maria Luisa*and*del Alamillo*since at least*2008, but there have never been more than a few birds present. The*Parque del Oeste*and*Casa de Campo*area of*Madrid*have also been home to a few birds since at least*2010*but they have never numbered more than*5-10*birds. In*Barcelona they have been present since*1990*and there are now numbers c100*birds. Odd birds have also been reported from*Cartegena*(Murcia),*Guadalhorce*(Malaga) and*Sotogrande*(Cadiz).

Red-masked and Mitred Parakeets*(or*Conures), both are bright green with variable amounts of scarlet on the head and often yellowish feathers elsewhere.*Mitred*has been present in*Barcelona*since*1991*where it's now reckoned there's a maximum of*200*birds. They largely seem restricted to the parks in the centre of the city particularly the*Parc de la Ciudadela*(near the zoo!). Since*1993 Barcelona*has also had a much smaller population of*Red-masked Parakeet*which was reckoned to number around a dozen birds in around*2010. There's a larger population of*20-30*birds in*Valencia*based on, perhaps significantly, the*Jardín Botánico*which has also been present since the*1990s.*

If in Spain report sightings of parrots (or other exotics) to Grupo de Aves Exoticas*(http://grupodeavesexoticas.blogspot.co.uk/)

 

[Nutcracker]

Interesting, though I find all the "*" make it hard to read

 

[John Cantelo]

Interesting, though I find all the "*" make it hard to read

Not sure what happened there! I copied & pasted from the original Open Office version which had no * whatsoever - there must be some sort of conflict between formats ... Teach me to paste & sign off without checking! Here's a more readable version (I hope!)

Rose-ringed Parakeet (or Ring-necked) was first reported breeding in Spain in the 1980s. Most occur in large urban parks often with suitable exotic trees. The current focus of the population is Barcelona, Seville and many of the cities along the Mediterranean coast (e.g. Malaga, Valencia, etc).

Monk Parakeet comes from South America. It is now present in Madrid, most larger cities or provincial capitals although the main populations are found in the provinces of Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga and Cadiz. Any population estimate is speculative due to a lack of accurate counts and its widely dispersed population. However, the population in several cities (e.g. Seville and Madrid) appears to be growing.

The Nanday (or Black-hooded) Parakeet has scarcely struggled beyond the handful of parks where it was first found in 2003. Barcelona remains the stronghold with up to 15 individuals being regularly reported in the city's parks (e.g. Parque de la Ciutadella & Parque de Diagonal) in 2012. Elsewhere there have been reports from Torremolinos (a pair in 2012) and Madrid.

Blue-crowned Parakeets have been present in Seville around the parks of Maria Luisa and del Alamillo since at least 2008, but there have never been more than a few birds present. The Parque del Oeste and Casa de Campo area of Madrid have also been home to a few birds since at least 2010 but they have never numbered more than 5-10 birds. In Barcelona they have been present since 1990 and there are now numbers c100 birds. Odd birds have also been reported from Cartegena (Murcia), Guadalhorce (Malaga) and Sotogrande (Cadiz).

Red-masked and Mitred Parakeets (or Conures), both are bright green with variable amounts of scarlet on the head and often yellowish feathers elsewhere. Mitred has been present in Barcelona since 1991 where it's now reckoned there's a maximum of 200 birds. They largely seem restricted to the parks in the centre of the city particularly the Parc de la Ciudadela (near the zoo!). Since 1993 Barcelona has also had a much smaller population of Red-masked Parakeet which was reckoned to number around a dozen birds in around 2010. There's a larger population of 20-30 birds in Valencia based on, perhaps significantly, the Jardín Botánico which has also been present since the 1990s.