LAS LOOKING GLASS

This isn’t a beak you’d expect to find when bird watching around Chicago. Or is it?

"I think this is a really cool project and rare opportunity to see a species invasion in progress," says Emily Minor, assistant professor of biological sciences. "You don’t get to see this often. You usually see it after it happens, not while it’s happening."

She’s referring to the Chicago Parakeet Project. Run by three Chicago university biology professors, the project seeks to learn more about the garrulous green birds—descended from a few escaped pets—that have adapted to Chicago’s temperate climate and spread beyond initial feral nesting sites in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood to more than 500 known locations.
"We’re trying to find the location of every nest in the city and surrounding areas so we can learn more about habitat preferences, why they chose to nest in certain places, and also to understand the pattern of where they spread and predict where they may be going," says Minor.

A monk parakeet nest in the Chicago area.

Minor—with colleagues Stephen Pruett-Jones of the University of Chicago and Christopher Appelt of St. Xavier University—developed an easy-to-use online survey for the public to report parakeet sites. "We are getting some great responses from citizens who submit their nest observations to our online survey," she says. "Some people are really excited and passionate about the birds while others find them to be a nuisance. I have been pleasantly surprised by the reaction from the public. We have gathered 290 observations through our survey so far. I love reading the comments people write."

"All we really need is an address or cross-street location of the nests," Minor said. "We plan to visit each nest and collect data that may be hard for the public to collect."

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Emily Minor.

Minor, a landscape ecologist and mapping expert who is interested in large spatial patterns and the spread of invading species, joined Pruett-Jones and Appelt after learning of their work. Together, the group hopes to study the spatial dispersion of nests and the long-term changes in the population. Other possible research includes the effects of this exotic bird species on native bird communities. Minor says the birds have been tracked as far as 20 miles from the original Hyde Park sites where they were first noticed in the 1960s.

Their nests are high up in trees and in structures such as power-line towers and poles, where large nests have been known to catch fire. Minor adds, "We have found that monk parakeet nests tend to be close to railroad tracks. We are not sure why yet, but there are several possible explanations: (1) food resources are probably different near the tracks, (2) open, linear features may promote dispersal, or (3) railroad rights-of-way may contain lots of possible nesting structures." They have also looked for any adverse effects the birds may have on native species, but so far none have been found.

Map of parakeet nesting locations in the Chicago area in the last five years.

The parakeets survive Chicago winters if they can find warm nesting spots and bird-feeders. The birds have a diverse diet, which helps survival. While sometimes considered an agricultural pest in their native Argentina, monk parakeets have not yet been found raiding cropland beyond the Chicago metropolitan area.

Released or escaped monk parakeets have thrived in other large cities in temperate climate zones, but research on how this invasive species has spread is scant. The Chicago parakeet project may yield clues about why this subtropical pet shop bird has taken a shine to the big city lights up north.

Adapted from a UIC News article by Paul Francuch, September 23, 2009.