A parrot friend of ours who gardens at the Ballard P-Patch just off NW 85th Street and 25th Avenue NW in North Seattle, was tending his garden Friday, September 16th, as were several other people in the garden, when a pair of Mitred Conure parrots flew up to feed for a short time in the garden, then flew over to some nearby apple trees to feed, before taking off again. Our friend and every one else in the P-Patch got a really good look at them. The Conures announced themselves with their incessant squawking. These would be the Golden Gardens Conures that people have been telling us about for years. In our eleven years here in Ballard we have not yet been lucky enough to see them. Apparently they roost at the top of Golden Gardens Park somewhere near NW 85th Street and 32nd Avenue NW.
A pair of Mitred Conure parrots photographed in Golden Gardens Park, January10 2010,
published by the local Ballard News-Tribune.
Better known are the Mitred Conure parrots of Seward Park. A member of the Northwest Exotic Bird Society, Karyn Jensen, reported:
If you go out to Seward Park to see the Mitreds, they
usually hang out at the Point-- you cannot drive to this spot. You have to
walk around the loop path to spot them. I live about a mile from Seward
Park Seward
Park
To see our original blog post about the Wild Parrots of Seattle, click here. For a story and several photos about the Seward Park Conure parrots in the Columbia Citizens neighborhood blog, click here.
Three Mitred Conure parrots photographed feeding on a Hawthorne tree in Shoreline, September 15, 2008.
To see a photo of one of the Seward Park Mitred Conures taken May 19, 2009, click here.
Anyone with further information and photos of the Wild Parrots of Seattle, please contact us.
5 comments:
I used to see 15-20 conures when I lived in Ballard in 1995-97, so they've been around at least that long. I was worried that the last few cold winters had been hard on them. So glad they're still around!
Carolyn: Where in Ballard did you see them?
I am afraid I am the one responsible for the conures. One day in 1989, my bf's conure flew off my mom's shoulder outside. He stayed high up in one of the trees in our back yard all day long. We kept putting food down and even managed to hoist his cage up to almost where he was. He didn't want anything to do with it. we kept calling his name and everything, but he flew North towards Maple Leaf park and we never saw him again. (We lived in Maple Leaf at the time and the park was at the top of my block.)
But be happy to know that after all these years the parrots seem to be doing well! I just hope to have the opportunity to see them one day.
Glad I found this article. Was just telling a friend that we used to see parrots in Seattle (Seward Park) in 1997-99, before I moved back to Portland. Glad to see they are still around.
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