Monk Parakeet yesterday at Sandsprit Park in Stuart.

We saw (and heard) flocks of them flying in and out of a few cabbage palms on the northeast side of the park, close to the water.

Audubon: The Sketch…

The Monk Parakeet: A Jailbird Who Made Good

Monks are in good company in southern cities, which often host several species of introduced parrots, but in colder northern cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston, they are often the lone tropical bird. That’s because while other parrots make their homes in tree cavities, monks build communal stick nests—multichambered, insulated structures that can span five feet in diameter and keep dozens of birds warm through even the nastiest Northeastern winters. (They can also cause full-blown power outages when the birds build the nests on electric lines, which they have a habit of doing.) A mid-January visitor to Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery can simply follow the squawks to find one of the twiggy orbs sitting atop the Gothic arches at the main gate. Colorful and vivacious, the birds seem completely oblivious to the miserable day that surrounds them.