Swooping in, squawking furiously and seemingly tumbling instead of flying, the flock of wild parrots arrived again this morning. They are like first graders let out for recess. with their noise, enthusiasm and complete lack of order.
Settling in one of my pine trees and snacking off the pine cones, the birds are well camouflaged, their green and yellow bodies snuggled into tree branches of the same colors. It is only when one or two move to the sycamores lining the driveway that you are certain they are there.
They like to sit in the sycamores and eat their pine cones; perhaps they don't want to share. They also don't like humans to intrude on their dining experience. Twice they have dropped half eaten pine cones on my head. I am positive it was deliberate. They are so territorial that, when they are in residence, the crows abandon their posts in the yard.
When the parrots decide to move on, it's another mad scramble. They somehow communicate which direction to go but they all follow their own GPS systems as they take to the skies.
I hear from others that there is more than one flock of wild parrots in Malibu. My crowd is the Pt. Dume flock.. I don't know where they arrived from. Once I heard that they were part of the bird show at the many years defunct Busch Gardens and had been let go when the gardens closed down. They made their way over the mountains to Malibu where they found paradise and stayed -- like so many of us Bu residents.
However they got here, it is a joy to see them. Even when they arrive with raucous good cheer as the sun rises.
Later as I was tending to the horses, I looked above and saw a flock of geese flying south in perfect formation. Quite a beautiful sight. Just as the parrots are in their hilarious flight.
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