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Posted by Alex Harper on 14:26:35 12/20/12
On 12/20/12, I observed two Nanday Parakeets in Miami Shores. This is the first time I have ever observed them in my neighborhood.
They are throughout Palm Beach and Broward County, but in Miami-Dade they appear to be restricted to the Homestead area and extreme southern portion of the county, mostly absent in the Greater Miami area, and then appear again in the extreme northeastern suburbs in the county. I have observed small numbers of them in the Ives Dairy Road area at the Miami-Dade/Broward line, surely part of the Palm Beach and Broward population.
I believe that they are relatively absent from most of Miami-Dade because of competition with the large number of Aratinga parakeets, but it will be interesting to see as time goes on if they continue to work their way southward, perhaps even joining the southern Miami-Dade population.
Parakeet and parrot numbers flux greatly as populations begin at different locations and at different points in time, then interact with other species. With mostly Central and South American species feeding on introduced plants from their native ranges, we have species such as the Crimson-fronted Parakeets of Central America now associating with White-eyed Parakeets of northern South America. Only nine years ago in Miami Shores, Red-masked Parakeet was the most abundant Aratinga species, and White-eyed Parakeets were absent. Now, White-eyed Parakeets are abundant, Blue-crowned Parakeets are common, and Red-masked Parakeet numbers are low.
Good stuff,
Alex
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