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| Thousands of rose-ringed parakeets, close relatives of parrots, have made their home in the Netherlands over the past five decades, and their growing presence has become a source of noisy debate |
To their
detractors, they're dirty alien invaders whose incessant chatter ruins Sunday
morning lie-ins. To their supporters, they're beautiful, cheerful reminders of
warmer climes amid the winter chill.
Love 'em or
hate 'em, thousands of rose-ringed parakeets, close relatives of parrots, have
made their home in the Netherlands over the past five decades, and their
growing presence has become a source of noisy debate.
Like in
other European cities such as London and Paris, the colourful green birds with
distinctive red beaks have proliferated over the years.
They gather
in garden trees and around schools; they even roost outside the Dutch
parliament in The Hague, with urban legend telling how one debate was drowned
out by the birds' constant calls.
Imported
from Pakistan in the 1960s to brighten the aviaries of wealthy Europeans --
especially the Dutch and British -- over the years many escaped and have now
successfully adapted to life in the city.
Indeed, the
rose-ringed, or ring-necked parakeet was listed among Europe's top 100 most
invasive species in the scientific journal "Biological Invasions" in
December.
While their
fans claim they are victims of a knee-jerk fear of anything new, some groups
actively lobby for their numbers to be culled.
In
Amsterdam, where one of the largest colonies of parakeets lives, the town hall
has banned residents from putting out food in some areas or risk a 70 euro
($86) fine.
Critics
argue the flying flocks undermine the natural order, pinching the resting
spaces of owls and bats, leaving behind piles of bird droppings and ravaging
trees and plants.
"Some
residents are even thinking of moving house because of their infernal
noise," said Wilfred Reinhold, president of an association fighting
against the birds' presence in the country.
'Charming, but destructive'
With
plentiful food, few predators and lots of water, the living is easy in the
Netherlands, where the flocks have grown unchecked.
In Leiden,
biologist Roelant Jonker has taken the country's oldest colony of the birds
under his wing, despite being allergic to their feathers and even though his
passion was sorely tested six years ago.
While studying a group of yellow-eared parrots in the jungles of Colombia, Jonker was taken hostage by FARC rebels, a "traumatising experience" which lasted eight months.
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| In Amsterdam, home to one of the largest colonies of parakeets, the town hall has banned residents from putting out food in some areas or risk a fine of 70 euros |
While studying a group of yellow-eared parrots in the jungles of Colombia, Jonker was taken hostage by FARC rebels, a "traumatising experience" which lasted eight months.
But he
remains determined to protect the estimated 15,000 parakeets which now call the
Netherlands home. By comparison, France is 15 times bigger but counts only some
10,000 parakeets.
"Of
course they are charming... but they also cause a lot of damage," said
Reinhold, keeping a watchful eye on some budding chestnut trees outside the
Dutch parliament.
A recently
published picture of an embassy-lined street near the royal palace sullied with
parrot droppings has only added grist to his mill.
'Here to
stay'
Reinhold
insists that measures should be taken to stop the flocks.
"Nets
could be dropped on the trees at night to catch hundreds of them," he
suggested, accepting however that using guns to shoot them down "would not
be a very good idea in the city".
But
removing them would be too costly, argued Jonker, declaring: "There is
nothing to do. They are here, they are going to stay."
He pointed
to some birch trees, saying they had once been imported by the Romans and were
now an integral part of the Dutch landscape.
The next
generation will see the parakeets "as ordinary birds... and they will be
as ordinary as all the different colours of people and birds in Europe,"
he added.
Ring-necked parakeets in The Netherlands are falling victim to 'eco xenophobia' according to Dutch biologist Roelant Joncker, who says the belief that these bright green birds drive out native species is simply untrue. pic.twitter.com/0gN2dNqf0u— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 13, 2018
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