Who's A Pretty Boy ?....

[alun j.]

Sightings of unusual tropical visitors !!

 

Is it the hot weather or global warming ??

 

After the talk of large unidentified warm water fish this past week, I'll add my two penny worth from the shore............

 

Whilst digging bait this afternoon , near Lilliput, an unusual 'booming' noise was coming from nearby but I couldn't see any obvious source; strange sound, half car alarm / half jungle sound !!

 

Locating the direction it was coming from......... a few steps forward and I found myself staring straight at a small , grey, PARROT........ standing on the gravel [and pretty well camouflaged] .... booming !

 

I got about 2 metres from it before it flew off....... towards Salterns...... showing a flash of its bright red tail.

 

I'm not a birder or 'twitcher'..........but it would be a good tick!

 

Could it have come from one of those big boats in the marina ?? [ Tom ??] or escaped from one of the exotic houses in Sandbanks ??.....but it would struggle to find supper on the beach.

 

Alun.

 

[Swainiac]

Alun, whilst in the Police, I once executed a warrant in my capacity as a Police wildlife Liaison Officer, at a Hotel near there, where they keep exotics such as greys, so maybe that one is an escapee. Parrots are poor fliers, and cant do distance.

 

Rich

[Afishionado]

There are several grey parrot flocks in the New Forest according to the local press and twitchers (My sons girlfriends mother is a raving twitcher). Also I understand that the Lilliput and Sandbanks area has a small flock of Greys.

 

The basis of the flocks were escaped birds that have developed into small breeding flocks. Apparantly they seem to thrive in the south of England.

 

Mad Mike

[alun j.]

Thanks for that; I'll keep my eyes and ears open more!

 

...... but I've never seen them there before......and I've been digging there for years.

 

Alun.

[crazy fred]

not a parrot man my self i prefer looking for TITS

[Paul J]

Then your more of a titter than a twitcher

[plaicemat]

Or even a tweeker, given the oportunity!

 

Terry B.

[jack]

Oh Dear....going down.! jack

[charlieannear]

The Lilliput parrots sometimes make it to the top of the hill in Parkstone too, seen in the road opposite the Labour club- and not just after a few pints of San Miguel!

For a few years there were a pair of bright green parakeets too, but haven't seen them yet this year.

[Seamouse]

For a few years there were a pair of bright green parakeets too, but haven't seen them yet this year.

You can have ours. West London is heaving with parakeets, flocks of up to twenty at a time. Noisy brutes too.

 

Steve

[charlieannear]

Yep, have experienced that in Australia!

 

There's nothing like a flock of Lorikeets dropping pine nuts on the metal roof of your accomodation at 4 in the morning to set you off on a good day

[Afishionado]

There's nothing like a flock of Lorikeets dropping pine nuts

 

 

THAT'S IT!! I remember now The parrots/keets nest/fly round/ feed on the pine trees in and around Sandbanks and Canford cliffs.

 

Mad Mike

 

 

[TomBettle]

Get quite a few buzzing around my back garden at Branksome Chine.

Always a bit of a surprise when you nip out on the Blacony for a fag and a bl@@dy parrot is sat on your patio furniture!

[Gnasher]

Ive seen had a couple of odd sightings, firstly a flamingo in Lymington marshes whilst out with the missus, and Dommy had aslo spotted it a couple of days previous whilst in the same area. Dommy also had a seal in his swim whilst barbel fishing on the stour and he also has seen them in muddiford run.....ive never seen a parrot though.

[Paul D]

There was a seal last year, sunning itself on the verandas up from Wick.