New 'Keet On The Block

I don't know how many of you saw the BBC programme which was shown on Friday and Saturday -- just a little ten-minute job, called "The Great British Parakeet Invasion". I doubt that it'll be news to anyone that green parakeets have thoroughly colonised this area along with much of the rest of England, especially the south-east. There's a colony of thousands in Esher, but there's also a fair number of them flying around Nonsuch Park whenever I've been there in the last few years. We don't often see them in our garden, but we did have this rather cheeky visitor just before New Year!

Although they're very noisy when they get going, I confess I'm rather taken with them -- it's the bright colour that attracts me, I think. I saw some once in a yew tree near the café in Nonsuch Park, feeding on its berries, and the contrast between the light green birds and the dark green tree was very attractive -- shame I didn't have my camera with me that day.

(Expect more postings about Ewell's wildlife over the next week or two -- I seem to have seen quite a lot of it today...)