A Feral Parakeet at My Feeder!

This male Budgie (Parakeet) escaped from someone at a local pet store about a year and a half ago. He's been living in my neighborhood ever since. This is his second winter that he's surviving. He usually flies with the finches and sparrows, but sometimes on his own. He flies about the neighborhood squawking and chirping, from one place to the other. I usually see or at least hear him flying past every day. For some time I was trying to capture him to rescue him for his own good, because larger birds and birds of prey will go after them and try to kill them. About 6 years ago rescued a green female parakeet at my feeder who was being run to exhaustion by a Blue Jay. I had to chase her across 2 roof tops before catching her with a net. She was very winded and not a great flier. She stayed with me the next 5 or so years until she died last year. But this little boy has proven to be a survivor, and he is a very strong flier! I witnessed him evading a hawk just a couple of months ago above my house! It chased him in circles for several laps before the hawk gave up and landed in of my trees, which scared away all the doves. But, the parakeet flew away into the sunset, squawking and chirping happy to be alive and come to the feeder another day.

He's experienced in surviving US winters now and evading predators, and is obviously much happier being free in the wild than being a pet in someone's cage. I decided to abandon my attempts to trap him. I will just take care of him by making sure he has the right food every day. He needs a special food that has a high amount of millet in it, because he's too small to be able to eat the larger and tougher milo seeds that are often favored by doves, pigeons, etc. and that makes up the bulk of cheaper bird seeds.

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