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Hunting Parakeet

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I remember driving a van around London in the mid 80’s and being amazed by seeing them, I’d never heard of their existence in the UK until the and they were there in large numbers. About twelve months ago I started working on a house near Sale rugby club in Manchester and recognised their calls and then just a couple of weeks ago I visited my cousins new house that backs on to Aintree race course and they have them visiting the bird feeder in the garden. I’m also surprised nothing is being done about an invasive species spreading so widely
 
I should have taken a look at that before replying to the post 👍
Control covered by GL40 and 42, interesting even though from my limited observations have been of them in populated areas and not subject to control under either category
 
I knew they were on the GL as I had seen a video on YouTube of one of the magazine writers shooting them .


Part of the video was used in an programme recently and used without permission and the Fieldsports channel have put in a claim about it them using the footage .

The TV show here .

Invasion of the Parakeets

 
I recall first seeing these Parakeets in Oxleas Woods, London, near Blackheath around 1982/3.
Then they were a novelty and quite striking - just a few of them.

By the time I moved out of London in 2023 there were swarms of them in several local parks - most notably Wanstead Park.

They compete with other native - or at least long standing - British species for nesting space as well as food with adverse effects on the numbers of Owls etc, although this is disputed by some people.

Personally, I believe that some action is needed to control and reduce their numbers in order to protect other birds - in a similar way to the adverse effect that Canada Geese have had on other aquatic species in local parks and ponds.

I thought that the programme linked above was a moderately balanced view - although clearly coming from the non-hunting community so unlikely to be popular here on AGF.
 
mitch21 said:
@Shoto1 s neck of the woods is heavily covered in them,we have some but blimey don't they make a mess, hope the powers that be don't wait too long,another Grey situation isn't needed,
Good Luck 🤞 mitch21
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Yes, their numbers have grown tremendously in the last few years.
I often see and hear squadrons of them in the early evening….

The corvids disappear fast when the green goblins appear 🦜
 
Byronic said:
I recall first seeing these Parakeets in Oxleas Woods, London, near Blackheath around 1982/3.
Then they were a novelty and quite striking - just a few of them.

By the time I moved out of London in 2023 there were swarms of them in several local parks - most notably Wanstead Park.

They compete with other native - or at least long standing - British species for nesting space as well as food with adverse effects on the numbers of Owls etc, although this is disputed by some people.

Personally, I believe that some action is needed to control and reduce their numbers in order to protect other birds - in a similar way to the adverse effect that Canada Geese have had on other aquatic species in local parks and ponds.

I thought that the programme linked above was a moderately balanced view - although clearly coming from the non-hunting community so unlikely to be popular here on AGF.
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Packham tries to come over as being driven by the science, but in the matter of birds and shooting, he is certainly not unbiased and open minded. He despises field sports and control of pest species, and wants both stopped. He was the principle driver of the sharpening up of the enforcement of the General License. When I started out shooting, you could shoot pigeons and crows because it was agreed by all that they were pests. Now you have to pretty much log your serious efforts to prevent pigeon damage by non-lethal means before you point a gun at a pigeon or a crow. It is not that long ago that thanks to Packham, farmers and their agents were scared to do anything about crows and pigeons. I certainly think twice and then again before I would even point a gun at either. Soon we might see Packham extolling the charm of rabbits. In this video he already absolved teh grey squirrels. He is not a guru or a scientist, he is an anti-shooting advocate dressed up as one.

I just watched that Channel 4 video. It was interesting, but the left wing political motivations came out clearly at about minute 25 when Packham got to discussing the benefits of diversity with a couple of Londoners. You can argue that with all species, but when you do, you have to ignore that impact on the populations which were already there and are displaced or competed with.

EDIT:

At the same time, his efforts to publicise the quite shocking illegalities of crimes against raptors that happen on some shooting estates or around them, are a good thing.
 
tony1951 said:
Packham tries to come over as being driven by the science, but in the matter of birds and shooting, he is certainly not unbiased and open minded. He despises field sports and control of pest species, and wants both stopped. He was the principle driver of the sharpening up of the enforcement of the General License. When I started out shooting, you could shoot pigeons and crows because it was agreed by all that they were pests. Now you have to pretty much log your serious efforts to prevent pigeon damage by non-lethal means before you point a gun at a pigeon or a crow. It is not that long ago that thanks to Packham, farmers and their agents were scared to do anything about crows and pigeons. I certainly think twice and then again before I would even point a gun at either. Soon we might see Packham extolling the charm of rabbits. In this video he already absolved teh grey squirrels. He is not a guru or a scientist, he is an anti-shooting advocate dressed up as one.

I just watched that Channel 4 video. It was interesting, but the left wing political motivations came out clearly at about minute 25 when Packham got to discussing the benefits of diversity with a couple of Londoners. You can argue that with all species, but when you do, you have to ignore that impact on the populations which were already there and are displaced or competed with.

EDIT:

At the same time, his efforts to publicise the quite shocking illegalities of crimes against raptors that happen on some shooting estates or around them, are a good thing.
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As I said earlier. . . . .
"I thought that the programme linked above was a moderately balanced view - although clearly coming from the non-hunting community so unlikely to be popular here on AGF."
 
Like any other birds listed on the gl’s they can be shot, as long as all the conditions of the particular gl are complied with
 
P8X said:
Like any other birds listed on the gl’s they can be shot, as long as all the conditions of the particular gl are complied with
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Yeah I’ve taken that on board now. Just think it’s daft that a fairly rapidly growing invasive species isn’t on open ticket rather than all the box ticking exercises people have to go through first
 
Wayno-81 said:
Yeah I’ve taken that on board now. Just think it’s daft that a fairly rapidly growing invasive species isn’t on open ticket rather than all the box ticking exercises people have to go through first
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Yep it would be much easier if they were treated like the grey squirrel or rabbit

Unfortunately they’re not
 
Even when they are a pest the useless Government will not do anything about it.
Deer are/have become a pest species but all the restrictions prevent sensible culling to keep the numbers down.
Canada Geese are a huge pest. I know a farmer who has about 400 resting on his land in winter.
They eat so much of his grass he has to buy hay in for his cattle.
They can be shot all year round but only with steel shot if using a shotgun.
There are so many on the adjacent fields it would take an army of shooters to reduce their numbers effectively.
Parakeets will become the same unless there is a concentrated effort and a lifting of restrictions on their control.
Then there is Signal crayfish....you need a licence to control them!!!!
The lunatics are running the asylum.:mad:
 
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