Hunting Parakeet

[Chris jr]

What do they taste like? A chap on are shoot has taken some for the table/freezer but is waiting until has got a few to do something with

The Countryside Parakeets eat only seeds (Inc. arable crops), nuts, fruits and berries, and possibly fly maybe 50 to 100 miles a day. Very much like a wild (not urban garden) Wood Pigeon. As such their taste is very similar. When you get one, you only get a breast about 1.5 inches wide, and loads of good feathers for tying flies.

 

[Chris jr]

serious question,why aren't these invasive birds being controlled by the indigenous population,crows etc and the various raptor species .
it's not like they don't stand out.

Hi, as per the post below, Parakeets have already become regular food for our UK Peregrine Falcons. I know for sure our summer visiting Hobby's, who follow swifts, martins, swallows, to the UK from South Africa, will also definitely eat them. Our aerial defence must also include the trusted Sparrow Hawk, and I suspect even a smaller male Spar will bring down the Green Menace.

 

[Old Ironsights]

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

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/invasion-of-the-parakeets

'Magpie, that'd make a lovely parakeet, squire', said in a Michael Palin voice....

 

[Old Ironsights]

Budgerigar is an Australian aboriginal's word which means "good food" and they hunt and eat parakeets when in the bush,
I reckon i would prefer a southern fried parakeet to a squirrel,

Hi @martin st ledger. At school we used to be taught it either meant 'good food' or 'pretty bird', but I don't think the origin is really known for sure. The budgie is a smaller bird to the parakeets in the photos/videos on this thread. I think our 'budgie' is your 'lorikeet' from memory.

The slang term 'budgie smugglers' has come into use down here, not sure if it is used in the UK?

Regards,

 

[Former]

Hi @martin st ledger. At school we used to be taught it either meant 'good food' or 'pretty bird', but I don't think the origin is really known for sure. The budgie is a smaller bird to the parakeets in the photos/videos on this thread. I think our 'budgie' is your 'lorikeet' from memory.

The slang term 'budgie smugglers' has come into use down here, not sure if it is used in the UK?

Regards,

Yep, you see them on beaches, along with many beetle bonnets.

 

[CDD]

Hi @martin st ledger. At school we used to be taught it either meant 'good food' or 'pretty bird', but I don't think the origin is really known for sure. The budgie is a smaller bird to the parakeets in the photos/videos on this thread. I think our 'budgie' is your 'lorikeet' from memory.

A budgie is a budgie, though technically it's a parakeet. Lorikeets are different, being nectar feeders with brush-like tongues. Aborigines were happy to eat any of them.

I heard parakeets in a local park for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Very strange because I didn't initially register them, being used to the constant chattering of parrots of one sort or another in Australia. They are clearly spreading and will compete with native hole-nesters.

 

[bi6als]

Theres a tree that gets full of them in Sheffield, On Penistone Rd towards Hillsboro.....I think its in the yard of the Peugeot dealer

 

[Mark E Smith]

Yep, you see them on beaches, along with many beetle bonnets.

More commonly seen in Benidorm usually accompanied by a beer belly and a leathery tan. Never worn them myself but, if I did, I’d like to think that I’d be rocking a parakeet not a budgie !

 

[CDD]

Hi, as per the post below, Parakeets have already become regular food for our UK Peregrine Falcons. I know for sure our summer visiting Hobby's, who follow swifts, martins, swallows, to the UK from South Africa, will also definitely eat them. Our aerial defence must also include the trusted Sparrow Hawk, and I suspect even a smaller male Spar will bring down the Green Menace.

I've seen a variety of raptors taking parakeets and lorikeets in Australia, including Peregrines and other falcons, and Collared Sparrowhawks and Brown Goshawks. The Little Falcon, an Aussie equivalent of a Hobby, is almost a lorikeet specialist. Unlike the Hobby, they fly low and fast and will take quite large prey. Not uncommon if you keep your eyes open, and operating in the heart of Aussie cities.

 

[StevieB100]

Quite a large flock of them in Sunderland

 

[P8X]

So are you saying that if one of these green rats flies into my garden and scares all the sparrows off of the feeder it is fair game ?

Hadn't seen a sparrow for years and a couple of years ago they started coming back and my feeders now are covered with them.

The GL needs to be complied with, in full, including trying / having tried / or being sure they're not practical, any non lethal measures.
The table that lists the species that can be shot, is only part of it

Don't comply fully and you break the law. It's that simple

 

[TOUCHMYMONKEYUK]

The GL needs to be complied with, in full, including trying / having tried / or being sure they're not practical, any non lethal measures.
The table that lists the species that can be shot, is only part of it

Don't comply fully and you break the law. It's that simple

Short of not feeding the Sparrows what other non lethal measures are there ?

I can go out and tell them they are very naughty and make them fly away but they just do a big circle and come back.

I can put a big sign up saying "No green flying rats welcome" but they will probably ignore it.

 

[Bighit]

Short of not feeding the Sparrows what other non lethal measures are there ?

I can go out and tell them they are very naughty and make them fly away but they just do a big circle and come back.

I can put a big sign up saying "No green flying rats welcome" but they will probably ignore it.

You can get bird feeders that only let in smaller birds , If they cant get into the feeders they may not visit if they cant feed .

My neighbour has some and the little birds can freely feed and the bigger birds cant .

They have one of these among some others .



These supposedly work well with bigger birds . They may work with Parakeets .

 

[P8X]

Short of not feeding the Sparrows what other non lethal measures are there ?

I can go out and tell them they are very naughty and make them fly away but they just do a big circle and come back.

I can put a big sign up saying "No green flying rats welcome" but they will probably ignore it.

A shooter has simply got to make sure they have complied with the GL
A shooter doesn't have to justify that to me, but may have to in a court of law.

No point in arguing with me about this as I neither wrote the law, or enforce the penalties under the law, but I am here to ensure that all posts conform to the forum rules and any laws in place

 

[TOUCHMYMONKEYUK]

You can get bird feeders that only let in smaller birds , If they cant get into the feeders they may not visit if they cant feed .

My neighbour has some and the little birds can freely feed and the bigger birds cant .

They have one of these among some others .

View attachment 1022486

These supposedly work well with bigger birds . They may work with Parakeets .

View attachment 1022487

Tried all that and got feeders they cant get into, doesn't stop them turning up though.

First one is a bit of a non started due to no grass at all out there, all paved.

 

[TOUCHMYMONKEYUK]

A shooter has simply got to make sure they have complied with the GL
A shooter doesn't have to justify that to me, but may have to in a court of law.

No point in arguing with me about this as I neither wrote the law, or enforce the penalties under the law, but I am here to ensure that all posts conform to the forum rules and any laws in place

Be nice to know though what we can and can't do in more simple terms. Like i said if you search google it'll come up with many sites that say blast away and some they say not to.

What i'll do is just say nothing more about them and tell them nicely to go away.

 

[Bighit]

Tried all that and got feeders they cant get into, doesn't stop them turning up though.

First one is a bit of a non started due to no grass at all out there, all paved.

My neighbours cage one is not on the grass and it works well . Even stops the cats from time to time.

It was used daily by the birds sitting where it is in this pic. It just sits there , not attached in any way .

 

[TOUCHMYMONKEYUK]

My neighbours cage one is not on the grass and it works well . Even stops the cats from time to time.

It was used daily by the birds sitting where it is in this pic. It just sits there , not attached in any way .

View attachment 1022550

Cheers but i have tried stuff on the ground in the past and one was destroyed by foxes and the other was taken never to be seen again. The joys of foxes in S.London.

Think i'll just keep the feeders i have and give the green rats a stern telling off.

 

[Squint1958]

We have a rapidly expanding invasive pest species, yet it is still legal to keep, buy, and sell them? The law should apply to parakeets in the same way it does to grey squirrels.

 

[P8X]

Be nice to know though what we can and can't do in more simple terms. Like i said if you search google it'll come up with many sites that say blast away and some they say not to.

What i'll do is just say nothing more about them and tell them nicely to go away.

Hi.
Unfortunately, there's no simple answer.
The law is as it stands and the GLs, are your exemption within that law, to be able to shoot wild birds

The parakeet is on the list of birds that can be shot, and all we ask is that any posts referring to shooting any wild birds, contain a statement of which GL they were shot under.

We can't offer advice on how to meet the criteria, that the shooter needs to comply with, as each case would be different. The best we can do as a forum is make sure all posts, comply with the forum rules as they stand.

Personally, I think GL40 is incredibly difficult to comply with as its very hard to come up with concrete justification. It's the reason I no longer shoot birds, under this GL.