I recently added another bird feeder to my yard. This one I placed up front near a bird bath with a small solar fountain. The new addition was discovered immediately by my neighborhood birds (unlike the one in the backyard which took them several months to find).

While I have several species that frequent the feeder (Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, American Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, and Eurasian Starling) all of them cede the space when the flock of Nanday Parakeets (Aratinga nenday) arrive.

I view their afternoon arrival with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I enjoy watching these noisy and colorful, medium-sized parrots. On the other, I know my feeders will soon be empty.

Originally from central South America, the birds were brought to Florida for the pet trade. The first ones were noted living outside in St. Petersburg in 1969. They have since established breeding colonies and are now found across the south-central part of the state. Though the 1992 Wild Bird Act prohibits importation of this tropical species (along with many others) its reproductive success means that it will remain one of Florida’s 195 non-native bird species for many years to come.