Hearing more squawks? Nanday parakeets seem to be everywhere

If you’ve recently noticed more bright-green parrots flying overhead, you’re not alone. After pairing off to breed during the spring and summer, nanday parakeets are gathering in larger, noisier flocks as their young join the group.

And if you haven’t seen them, you’ve probably heard them.

Their distinctive, high-pitched squawks and screeches – often sounding like “kree-ah, kree-ah” or “chriie, chriie, chriie” – can carry across neighborhoods as the birds call to one another while flying and searching for food.

According to Ann Paul, former president of the Tampa Audubon Society, the increase in activity has a seasonal explanation.

“They are very social animals,” Paul said. “The young birds raised during spring and summer are now part of the flock.”

That means the groups residents encounter in October may be larger than those seen earlier in the year, although that doesn’t necessarily mean the overall population has exploded.

Unlike migratory birds that travel south as temperatures drop, nanday parakeets generally stick to familiar territory.

“Typically, they are more or less home birds,” Paul said. “They are aware and familiar with the area they live.”

Native to South America, nanday parakeets are an introduced species in Florida, where escaped or released birds established breeding populations decades ago. They are recognizable by their bright-green bodies, black heads and distinctive blue feathers along their wings.

They can sometimes be confused with another introduced parakeet found in the Tampa Bay area: the budgerigar, commonly called a budgie.

Budgies are considerably smaller, typically sporting green-and-yellow plumage with dark markings on their wings and backs. They are commonly sold in pet stores.

Nanday parakeets, by comparison, are larger, with a striking black hood and a louder, harsher call. Both species are native to regions outside Florida, though budgies originally come from Australia.

For nanday parakeets, making noise is part of everyday life.

“They call to each other. They fly around calling to each other, so they are obvious in that way to the casual observer,” Paul said.

Their increased visibility also comes as Florida enters a season of changing bird activity. Paul noted that other species, including fish crows and blackbirds, can become especially noticeable during the winter months.

But the fall season also brings new dangers for the parakeets.

“This time of year we get a lot of hawks and raptors, aerial predators that eat these smaller birds, migrating through Florida,” Paul said.

Despite their non-native status, Paul said she isn’t aware of significant ecological harm caused by nanday parakeets in the area.

“There isn’t a big or negative impact that I’m aware of,” she said.

For now, the birds’ priorities are relatively simple: find food, stay together and avoid predators until it’s time to breed again.

“The goal of these birds is just to survive until the next nesting season,” Paul said.

So the next time a chorus of screeches erupts above your neighborhood, look up – that noisy green flock may include a new generation of nanday parakeets getting acquainted with its Florida home.