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Question about a flock of parrots
updated: Nov 18, 2009, 8:11 AM

For the last few days, I have heard a noisy flock of birds flying over the Westside. I was afraid they were parrots, but couldn't see them well enough to verify. This morning, the flock flew right over my head and they were definitely parrots, 11 of them. I was wondering how long they have been in Santa Barbara -- does anyone know?

(The reason I didn't want them to be parrots is that a flock hangs out near my sister's house in Long Beach and they are really noisy and annoying. I'd prefer to see them in the Yucatan or wherever they come from, rather than here in SB, competing with quieter indigenous birds.)

Comments In Order Of When They Were Received | (reverse order)

FRESHIE	2009-11-18 08:26 AM
They have been in our neighborhood-- 11 of them-- around La Cumbre/Hope since school started (that's when they seem to show up every year). They love to congregate in a walnut tree behind our neighbor's house on Pueblo Ave. They are raucous and colorful and a lot of fun to watch. I'm sure someone knows how long they've been coming here; I remember reading an article about them awhile back.
COMMENT 45968	2009-11-18 08:30 AM
Santa Barbara is the northern end of the historic and naturally occurring range of some parrot species. There is a healthy flock that lives in the San Roque area; Ive seen them repeatedly between State street and Foothill, and La Cumbre and Alamar.. There are many wild animals that live in SB proper that many dont realize are in suburbia every day. And Im not talking about the usual coyotes, skunks, and racoons. I've seen deer within 100 yards of the mission lawn, as well as in the county Bowl, pug marks from mountain lions in Stevens park bellow Foothill, and on Moore Mesa, Bob cats in San Jose creek near Calle Reale, ring tailed cats in the SJ creek, bear foot prints in Goleta creeks below foothill all the way to the beach at Coal Oil point, California Quail, near North Kellogg , and on and on. friend and fellow tracking enthusiast even found tracks and hair of wild boar in Franchesci park. Felix Unger
COMMENT 45970	2009-11-18 08:31 AM
I first noticed parrots back in the late 70's. It seems to me there is more than one flock, but I can't verify this. We live next door to a large fruitful pecan tree which the parrots have put on their dining tour, much to the explosively noisy dismay of the resident crows who have claimed ownership. I love to hear the parrots wing overhead, and they never seem to linger long. My advice: relax and celebrate life's ability to adapt.
GOWEST	2009-11-18 08:34 AM
Maybe one of them is Nemo.
COMMENT 45977	2009-11-18 08:58 AM
about 10 years ago i lived on san pascual street on the westside. i remember hearing the clamor of what sounded like screaming children. later on i spotted them. a flock of green parrots dining on a loquat tree. i've since moved from the area and sadly havent seen them. i wish they'd pay me a visit.
PATRICK	2009-11-18 09:08 AM
I was the one who posted this original item and I guess I can relax, now that readers have commented that the parrots have been coming around for years. The flock in Long Beach hangs around all year and continues to grow in size, now numbering 30 or 40 birds, is extremely noisy and everyone I have talked to wishes the parrots head back south. (I was afraid we were headed for a similar scenario, but I guess I can relax.) Also, there is a flock in Point Magu State Park's Big Sycamore Canyon that totally destroys the tranquility of the canyon. They, too, seem to hang out all year.
ROGER DODGER	2009-11-18 09:14 AM
I had a girlfriend in serious condition in the hospital about 12 years ago and while"Praying for a sign from God and the Dog." These birds came out of no where and landed in a tree not to far away. I had never seen them before and it really freaked me out. I saw them a few weeks later near Skandi's I really miss that place, we need another one.
COMMENT 45985	2009-11-18 09:17 AM
Ditto, parrots have flocked in Montecito (Westmont area, Casa Dorinda too) since I was a kid in the seventies. I remember feeling thrilled when I heard them. I would run outside to look, and a small green feather I found once was one of the treasures I kept in my treasure box. .I think the flock has grown some, it used to be only a few birds, and now there is a fairly large flock. (Off-topic, it makes me think of the extinct Carolina parakeet that was native in the South when the first Europeans came to this country. Imagine - huge flocks of brilliantly colored birds, flying over the vast virgin forests that used to cover this land...What a stunning place this must have been. It gives me a pang to think of it... )
BETSY	2009-11-18 09:21 AM
I've never seen them but I've heard about them for years. I understand they are mostly or originally escapees from caged prison to free thanks to former owners that did not have their wings clipped. I wish they'd visit the lower east side....
COMMENT 45988	2009-11-18 09:26 AM
Yes, a flock of parrots frequented in the La Cumbre/Hope area in 1992 when I lived there. There were about 10-15 of them back then.
COMMENT 45993	2009-11-18 09:40 AM
They flew over my house in Samarkand this AM. I have seen them before. We are lucky to have so many kinds of birds. Bird noises never bother me - not even the crows.
COMMENT 45994	2009-11-18 09:40 AM
I don't think the flock in Big Syc. Canyon 'destroys the tranquility'. They are fun to watch and add something special to the area. If you want peace & quiet, outdoors isn't always the place to be. And I don't hear you complaining about the racket crows make and they form much larger and louder crowds than the parrots. Just because they aren't native doesn't make them a pest by definition. And I haven't heard anything about local species being out-competed by the small flocks of parrots, so that's a moot point, as well. I enjoy them very much. It gives added character to a beautiful city.
EARLYBIRD	2009-11-18 10:09 AM
I don't mind the parrots on Syc Cyn either. Just watch out for the poop spots on the roads - don't hang out there, under those branches, or pause there while your dog showers his blessings on the nearby bushes - LOL. I think the parrots enjoy the game of it . . .
COMMENT 46010	2009-11-18 10:38 AM
I've heard the birds complaining that humans' cars and trucks are way too loud... and they wish we'd go south too.
COMMENT 46011	2009-11-18 10:42 AM
This page might be of interest to the people reading this thread: link
COMMENT 46014	2009-11-18 10:59 AM
Yes, there are a flock of 11 green parrots in the San Roque Area. They have been around for at least four years and are growing in number. Last year I only counted 9. Personally I find it awesome to have these gorgeous birds as part of our city. My kids love them and when we hear them coming we all run outside to greet them. I have some great pictures of them I will upload later. Noise!? Come on...you prefer the noise of automobile traffic or airplanes flying above? Appreciate mother nature while she still delivers.
COMMENT 46021	2009-11-18 11:10 AM
These birds are the northern-most flock of Mexican Lilac Crowned Amazons. Each member of this flock is tracked, named and counted. They have been in Santa Barbara since the 1970s and are not escapees. Escaped parrots have a very low survival rate because usually their wings are clipped. And they do not know how to forage, find water, or evade predators. For more information and updates, visit http://santabarbarabirdfarm.com/Wild%20Parrots/wildparrots.html
COMMENT 46035	2009-11-18 11:58 AM
There's a huge flock of crows (40-50?) that comes around residences near the Magnolia Shopping Center. They're extremely loud, and you can hear them stomping all over your rooftop too. Luckily, they don't stick around for too long.
COMMENT 46037	2009-11-18 12:14 PM
Incidentally there was a sweet film made about a flock of parrots that lived on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. They were taken care of by a single man who lived in a rented house whose bushes were the parrots' home. He made special food for them, named them, and cared for them for years, even inside the house when necessary. They became known, even legendary, to the point that a journalist arrived and spent a lot of time with him, getting to know him and the birds, making a documentary about he and "his" parrots lived. Then he was given notice that the rental was over and he would have to move. You have to see the film to find out the rest. I think it's called something simple like "The Parrots of Telegraph Hill."
COMMENT 46071	2009-11-18 03:57 PM
We have the parrots near our San Roque area home in Santa Barbara and near our factory area here in Bakersfield. They've established colonies in SoCal to the point that they're included in bird guides. On another note - I read recently that SF passed a law to prohibit public feeding of the parrots.
BETSY	2009-11-18 04:04 PM
Interesting that they aren't escapees. I had heard that there were some yellow-napes and other Amazons that frequented the eucalypus near the Biltmore. There also used to be flocks in the Chicago area and also, I heard, in other northern states. The film is The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill and it's based on the book of that name.
DAN39	2009-11-18 04:38 PM
Hey Pat, The birds flew over me a few times a year, and it wasn't until I worked on lower Coyote road that I saw them close. I think they roosted there. Syc Cyn? The Tea Fire destroyed my employment on Coyote and I haven't seen them since. But what a wonderful sight & sound they made as they flew towards Mission Canyon. Dano
COMMENT 46089	2009-11-18 04:59 PM
I have seen a flock on North Ontare between Foothill and State in the last few months. It was always too dark in the morning and I couldn't get a good look at them. I was wondering if I was going crazy but I guess not.
COMMENT 46102	2009-11-18 06:25 PM
Here's the Santa Barbara web site that's been tracking this flock. They love when you send them updates regarding their location, direction of travel, number in the flock and, of course, photos: link
COMMENT 46104	2009-11-18 07:12 PM
It's really a special thing to be fortunate enough to listen to noisy birds like crows and parrots. I feel thrilled when I smell a skunk, too. Loud cars and trucks - not good!
KNITALIFE	2009-11-18 10:08 PM
Wow! I have never seen them before. We get lots and lots of noisy crows from time to time, but not parrots. Where on the Westside were they sighted?
COMMENT 46146	2009-11-19 06:39 AM
Google "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" to view a trailer of the movie.
COMMENT 46153	2009-11-19 07:14 AM
Yup they have been up here in Mission Canyon Heights too in the last month.
COMMENT 46155	2009-11-19 07:28 AM
Nobody feeds to worry about being overrun by parrots. Unfortunately, their numbers are kept low in our area by predation by raptors.
COMMENT 46166	2009-11-19 08:36 AM
2 years ago I was living on the westside on Figueroa St and Carrillo I saw 11 green Parrots beating up a Hawk in mid air they were all attacking him, then one of my neighbors told me that the hawk tried to pick up her chihuahua whos leash was tied to the porch and out of no where the Parrots came and started pecking at the Hawk. It was real cool to watch
COMMENT 46168	2009-11-19 08:53 AM
Betsy, I totally support your recommendation of The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill! It is such a wonderful documentary film. So compassionate and human! Parrots are amazing birds and it is so nice to know that Santa Barbara provides a suitable climate and habitat to support our local group. In Santa Cruz, where I am from, we had a couple local wild parrots, but I always felt bad for them since life was much harder for them up there: colder, wetter, unsuitable habitats and roosts, and an sub-par food supply. It appears our parrots love Santa Barbara as much as we do =)
SHIPSSTEW	2009-11-19 09:21 AM
I watched them eat all the flowers on a small flame tree a few years ago. It was great to see them.
COMMENT 46175	2009-11-19 09:38 AM
Great comment 46010! I'm glad to see that the majority of the posters are FOR these beautiful birds being in their natural surroundings. Santa Barbara is part of THEIR territory. Humans have to learn to be a part of natural surroundings, not to have controlling interest!! Give me the tranquility of noisy birds over traffic noise ANYDAY! Animal noise is part of nature. Enjoy it, don't wish for it to go away. There are way too many extinctions already.
COMMENT 46182	2009-11-19 10:20 AM
These parrots are introduced, and many species of parrots have successfully started breeding populations outside their natural ranges following releases and human facilitation through exotic landscaping and other factors. It is nonsense that this is "the northernmost flock"- look at the geographic range. This is wishful thinking on the part of bird fanciers who don't want to take responsibility for releases and who want to keep the parrots around. Unfortunately, the urban-surburban landscape like that in sb is so inhospitable to most natives apart from a few opportunists that the parrots probably are having minimal impact.
COMMENT 46204	2009-11-19 12:00 PM
I cannot remember when the parrots were not here. I've been in SB 30+ years. First say them in Montecito along with wild peacocks. The peacocks could fly and they were noisy and aggressive. Still see the parrot flock fly over the Tennis Club about 4-5 pm in the winter from Montecito towards the Mission. They are fun to watch.
COMMENT 46268	2009-11-19 04:58 PM
I first started to really notice the parrots in 1985 when they would hang out in the tree in my front yard. There were 6 of them back then. Here is a link to some of their history. http://www.santabarbarabirdfarm.com/Wild%20Parrots/ wildparrots.html
COMMENT 46298	2009-11-19 10:54 PM
We had a huge flock when we lived in the Marina del Rey area of LA. They were so much fun to watch! I'd love to find this SB flock and pay them a visit!

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