Adelaidians are again being asked to report sightings of escapee Alexandrine parakeets to help prevent this introduced species from establishing in wild. Read on to learn more.
Efforts continue to locate Alexandrine parakeets on the loose in SA. This follows Green Adelaide’s call for public sightings in late September this year that uncovered these elusive parakeets in the southern suburbs.
Alexandrine parakeets are native to South Asia. They are popular pet birds in South Australia.
Threat to Adelaide's environment
Green Adelaide ecologist Jason Van Weenen said that though they are beautiful big green parrots, they do pose a serious threat to our native bird populations, and our state’s agricultural industry.
“It’s important that we find and capture these parakeets to prevent them from establishing in our environment,” Mr Van Weenen said.
“Alexandrine parakeets are about the size of a galah with a distinctive long tail and red beak. Their feathers are usually green, but occasionally they can come in blue and yellow."
Wild sightings in Adelaide's southern suburbs
Mr Van Weenen said that after the first round of sighting reports by the public, a specialised team attended a site in Morphett Vale where a group of 3 male Alexandrine parakeets were living in the wild.
“We could not have found these birds without the keen eyes of community members,” he said.
“These birds were exhibiting some breeding behaviours, so we used a cherry picker to check tree hollows being used by the parakeets, but only found native rainbow lorikeets and ring-tail possums living in them.
“Over the last couple of months we’ve started to better understand their wild behaviour.
"Like most birds they can travel long distances, but they also seem to like spending time in their favourite areas, and are regular visitors to particular food trees and roosting spots.
“Thanks to public reports, we have been able to confirm that there are numerous Alexandrine parakeets on the loose in the suburbs of Adelaide, particularly in the southern suburbs.
“We again encourage everyone in Adelaide to report their sightings to the National Pest Alert Hotline to help us locate more them in the wild.”
Report your parakeet sightings
You can report sightings of Alexandrine parakeets to the National Pest Alert Hotline on 1800 084 881.
Report the sighting date, location, and the number of birds spotted.
When a sighting is reported to the National Pest Alert Hotline, Green Adelaide works with bird experts and project partners to try and find them again, and return them to captivity.