Meet our newest neighbor, the very loud Nanday Parakeet that showed up a day or two ago.  You definitely hear this bird before you see him.  He perches in the tops of nearby trees, squawking his head off.  Then he moves to a closer tree.  Then a closer tree. Then he swoops in to the bird feeder to steal a seed.

It rained this afternoon, and this poor bird was totally soaked.  Maybe that’s why he was fussing so much.  He assured me that he’s more handsome when his feathers are dry.

Nanday Parakeets, also called Black-hooded Parakeets, are from South America.  You can read about them and listen to their very loud calls here.  Populations of introduced birds have grown in Florida, but this is the first I’ve heard in our general area.  It’s possible that it’s an escaped pet.  Last time I saw one in the wild was at Fort De Soto, where a couple posed beautifully with some yellow sunflowers.

I’ve missed my Painted Buntings, who left on schedule around April 20.  So this bird cracked me up as he perched above the bunting feeder, then fluttered down next to a perch, then used his beak to hold on and maneuver himself next to the seed.  I guess he has similar colors to a male bunting. Red and blue and green…but a bunting’s beak is not that sharp!

Every bird that visits our yard seems to have to pose on the bird finial.  This bird was no exception!  Our cats gawked at him and then ran to update their life list.

Rich and I tried to decide on a good name for this guy.  Rich suggested Squawky, which fits well with one of Whiskey’s nicknames, Squeaky.  There’s just one problem.  Squeaky is a little scared of Squawky!

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