Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Cockatiels are more intelligent, and have stronger bills than most other cagebirds, = greater will to escape, and greater ability to carry it out?
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How many escape species have you encountered over the years in your garden? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter KenM
- Start date
Cockatiels are more intelligent, and have stronger bills than most other cagebirds, = greater will to escape, and greater ability to carry it out?
Jabberwocky
Well-known member
In 39 years at this address I've had one budgie, a pet jackdaw escaped from a property about 200 yards down the road, two guineafowl, although these were not really escapes but released with pheasants by a neighbouring farmer. They used to roost in my trees for a while. They were both female and lasted eighteen months before being taken by a fox while trying to incubate a clutch of eggs. Finally on spring bank holiday 2014 a black kite. I got a little excited when it flew over but later it perched in the top of a tree and I saw the leg rings matched an escaped bird previously seen in suffolk.
KenM
Well-known member
Presumably they get locked up more often because of their propensity to Cocka-steal...
When I was a lad...Budgies were the only affordable piece of "flying exotica" that the average Joe could afford, how times have changed, they appear to have been run to 2nd place by presumably more expensive Cockatiels! Who knows what the next 50 years will bring......:eek!:
4 species of parrot and an australian white eye in 19 years. The latter had me thinking american wood warbler briefly. When I lived near Rye harbour reserve I had an african grey parrot come in off the sea so escapes can clearly cover large areas
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Mike Crawley
Emeritus President at Burnage Rugby Club
in 31 years
Two budgerigars (unfortunately one was from our house - we were budgie sitting !!)
One Zebra Finch
One Cockatiel
One Grey Partridge (27 years ago in suburban Stockport, I still can't convince myself it was wild)
Two budgerigars (unfortunately one was from our house - we were budgie sitting !!)
One Zebra Finch
One Cockatiel
One Grey Partridge (27 years ago in suburban Stockport, I still can't convince myself it was wild)
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
I don't see why not wild, urban fringes are often good places for Grey Partridges as population density makes shooting impossible, and they do move around a bit and can turn up in odd habitats. They're also very hard to raise in captivity (why rear-and-release shoots always use Red-legs), so a escapee captive is very unlikely.
Newcastle used to have Grey Partridges (same time frame as yours) within half a mile of the city centre.
I've never had an escapee in the garden, but we had a harris hawk at work once. It terrorised us for a couple of days, attacking several people, before being captured by a falconer.
They do seem to be the choice of raptor for those engaged in moving on problem species like pigeons + gulls, so probably more likely to occur as escapes.
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Also the choice of raptor for period films set in mediaeval UK/Europe and involving falconry, resulting in much mirth among birders 3
KenM
Well-known member
It would be interesting to know if any offspring from a ''pure'' pair adopted the ''pack hunting'' behaviour, that the species is renowned for in the Americas, also any hybrids from a Com.Buzzard cross, take their resulting structure and hunting methods from HH rather than CB?
I haven't had any
Swannery Steve
Well-known member
Three in my current Abbotsbury garden... Canary, Golden Pheasant & Lady Amherst's Pheasant the latter two no doubt wandering from the nearby Subtropical Gardens. I must have seen getting on for around 30 now at work now though so that equates to nearly one a year. I do work at Abbotsbury Swannery though which does seem to act as a honey pot to escapes but thankfully to genuine rarities too on occasion!
Steve.
Steve.
Welsh Peregrine
Well-known member
Thanks for mentioning Canaries - I've had one of those as well as the budgie and parrot mentioned in a previous post.
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