Monk Parakeet – Cell Phone Tower

This observation documents what for me is somewhat new behavior for Monk Parakeets. Monk Parakeets show a distinct preference for man-made structures when they chooses their nesting sites. By far and away the most coming location for a Monk Parakeet in a urban environment is an electrical substation. The lively green birds seem to be drawn to the sturdy girder and truss construction of these places.

In this case things were slightly different. Instead of selecting a substation for their home, these two Monk Parakeet constructed their nest at the top of a cell phone tower. The nest was very large. Much bigger than what I would expect would be needed for just two birds. There may be more parakeets at this site, but these two are the only ones we saw on this evening.

Two squawking parakeets caught our attention as they flew to the top of this cell phone tower. One landed under the platform and the other put down on the gangway..

A closer look at the parakeet perched underneath the nest.

This parakeet soon began making his way into the nest from underneath the platform.

You can see both parakeets in this picture. One has squeezed in between the nest and the gangway, and the other is perched out in the open.

The nest was very large—maybe a yard(meter) wide by two long. — The nest was very large—maybe a yard\meter wide by two long.

Observations Details

County	–	Denton
City	–	Garland
Date	–	Jul 3, 2013
Time of Day	–	Evening
Temperature	–	Hot (greater than 89°F/32°C)
Weather	–	Clear
Habitat	–	Commercial-Retail
Type of Behavior	–	Nesting
Gender	–	Mixed
Maturity	–	Adult
Observer	–	Chris Jackson

4 Replies to “Monk Parakeet – Cell Phone Tower”

I am a commercial property manager in thae dallas area, and have noticed a fairly large colony at on of our buildings in east dallas, at Plano road and LBJ. Close to Garland.

read that there was a spotting of monk parakeets at on Spring Oak Road in front of Mesquite Middle School in Dallas County. Picture of it was on Monk Parakeets of Dallas/Ft worth Facebook page. I looked it up on Google Maps and the Nest is clearly seen from a street view on a utility pole.

CGJ says:

September 24, 2014 at 10:53 pm

Thanks for the tip, Susan. The Monk Parakeet Facebook page was also new to me. Glad to know about it!

Reply

This is new to me! I live in Chicago and I noticed parakeet noises coming from a nest high up in a cell phone tower. On another day, I heard more parakeets on a different tower in Chicago. I couldn’t believe that these birds could survive the harsh winters up here. But now I’m convinced that they have migrated every where. Amazing! I am now on a quest to learn more about these birds! My 1st observation and sighting was in December 2015.

DFW Urban Wildlife