Thing #25: Photograph a Monk Parakeet nesting colony.
We drove southwest from Norwood Park to Elmhurst. We missed a couple more turns on the way, and traffic was lousy, but we arrived eventually. The huge stick nests were still there.
The nests were about 100 feet up on this tower and a lot larger than they look in this photograph — three feet across at least. My wife and daughter stayed in the car where it was warm. I got out and wandered around. The last time I was here, parrots were in the tree right next to the car and flying all over the area. Not this time. For about 10 minutes I was thinking the colony had been abandoned. Then I heard some loud screeching coming from the nests. Finally about eight of them flew out together and landed in the middle of this mass of metal which I’m sure reminds them of the South American jungle where they come from.
My family saw them fly, and could tell they were parrots, but they didn’t get a very satisfying look. Of course, they didn’t get out of the car either … Another pair flew out of the nest and landed by the others. I finally saw one headed back and got this incredible photo.
That’s the best I could do. It was cold, and they didn’t show any signs of being more cooperative. We gave up and headed home, arriving around 6:00.
Although we officially accomplished this objective, I’m not happy. If I get a chance, I’ll do it better.
Oh, I’m guessing you’re wondering what a Monk Parakeet would look like if you saw one up close.
Here it is.
