Dear Parrots magazine,
Feral parakeet populations
After receiving your October issue 153, I get so angry when I read about the feral parakeets mentioned on page 8. Where do some people get their numbers from? On the radio recently, there was a call on BBC Surrey (104.6 FM) in a programme about the parakeets. The total number is around 6,000, nothing like 44,000. The parakeets can reach an age of 25-30 years, and this is why we have such a large number, and they do not die out after 6-7 years.
There are a lot of nasty people out there. One man that phoned in on the programme was shooting them in his garden and you should have heard all the phone calls after he came off the air. I lost one parakeet in 2003, and Titch is still out there. I often take the train from Farnham to look for her. I never forget. She flew out of the same tree where she spent the first night, when I lost her, with a friend. She has a special sound, which I recognise and you may recall my story in the January issue 2007.
Anyway, I have met people in and around Farnham with parrots that have never heard of either your magazine or Northern parrots, so now I am promoting your magazine to parrot people. Lots of people feed their parrots with a sunflower seed diet and nothing else. They can learn a lot from your magazine.
I noticed my letter in the October issue, which wasn’t quite true. It said I had rescued, instead of I have a rescued Senegal, 7 years old, and also I fed him instead of I am feeding him. He is still with me and very spoilt and I love him to bits. Topsy is very good at talking. He keeps saying, “it’s OK” at the right moment. He can even count to three in Norwegian.
Kind regards from Unni and Topsy to everyone at Parrots magazine.
Unni Schau - by email