That would be a pretty sight to see out of my window. No, we don't have them in No. Minnesota.Dottie

I also live in SoCal and have seen flocks inland in the San Gabriel valley as well as here on the coast.

The Parrot Project site, linked below, tells about the local ones -- I would also be interested to know of other parts of the country with wild parrots:

Here is a link that might be useful: Parrot Project

The only ones we have here in PA live in a cage in my family room! One is very wild the other is calmer!!!

Austin, TX has a good sized colony.

None here in WV.

San Francisco has the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. I'm not sure how many are still around. A film was made about them and the bohemian man who cared for them. There are clips to watch also.

Here is a link that might be useful: from IMDB

There are lots of wild parrots all around this part of CA. They escaped from pet shops and cages. There was a documentary on them in San Francisco, "The wild parrots of Telegraph Hill". I have seen them once up there. It is rather strange to see them flying free. Kind of cool too.
Clare

Here is a link that might be useful: SF wild parrots

OK, I give up. What makes a Bird a Parrot? I thought it was ability to mimick human voices.

We don't have them either, Don't they have to have mild temps? Can they live in winter/snow?

I sure would love to see them in nature though, they are beautiful!

I forgot to add that I am from Michigan.

We have them in the harbor here, and DD has them in her neighborhood in West LA. She says they like to roost in a tree behind their property in the early morning, flying in as a flock all at once and making a real racket.

We have one in our immediate area that came from the wilds of Africa. We bought him in Spain 32 years ago and had a lot to go through to get him to the states. Stamps, ankle bracelet,vet's release, etc. Then had to hire a broker in NY to meet us at the airport and put him in quaranteen for 30 daysin the states. We are in central Florida now, and occasionally hear or see wild parrots.

In Kansas? I wish.

Ohhhh, I wish. To cold here for them. I did watch that movie. Got it off Netflix.
Leslie

Socks, I am also in SoCal (LA) and have seen them many times.

Petaloid, thanks for the link! That was very interesting.

Gardenspice, I'm surprised that you have them in Austin. I've never seen any on my area, which is about 75 miles from Austin. I would love to have some around here.

I think I saw a couple when I lived in Houston, but thought it was an escapee

When we lived in Miami, FL, we'd see many. They get displaced from Parrot Jungle (a tourist attraction) whenever strong storms or hurricanes come through. They are the pretty green ones. They can make a racket! We've been in NC for almost 14 yrs. now and have never seen a flock though I could swear that sometimes I think I hear some!

No wild parrots in Indiana. Probably too cold for them.

Sue

Oh - I would love to have wild parrots around! But not in cold PA.

We have wild Monk and Quaker parrots in Chicago's Hyde Park and Hegewisch neighborhoods.

that's awesome..i don't recall the entire time i lived in la or san diego seeing wild parrots...but then we've been gone 21 years...

No wild parrots here in central Long Island, NY. I did, however, see a red-winged hawk in the forest behind my house the other day.

No, I'm on the East Coast. I've never seen a wild parrot except in a zoo or on TV. Must be cool.

Gayle, I don't know exactly what makes a parrot a parrot but I don't think it is their mimacry. My littly love birds don't mimac and rarely do but they are part of the parrot family.

The hooked beak shape makes a parrot a parrot generally speaking. Parakeets and lovebirds etc are all parrots as well.
Quaker parakeets are a popular pet parrot but the are banned in many states and provinces of Canada because they can survive winters and could become very destructive to agriculture if they ever got out of control.

BTW those little parakeets as commonly called in the US are technically budgerigars (budgies), just one of many types of various parakeets. It's much like every American calling every poodle in the USA a dog and never referring to them as a poodle to the point where when you hear the word dog you think and envision only a poodle and not the other 200 types of dogs there are as canines.

Maryann - If we have time, I'll take ya to see them on Wednesday!

When we lived in West Palm Beach, Florida, we had those same Parrot Jungle descendents that orie talked about. I was told that's where they were from, displaced hurricane victims, not native birds. They were bright green, built huge nests, and made A LOT of noise. But since I grew up in Ohio, it was very cool! Every now and then one would catch his reflection in the side mirror of the van in the driveway and sit there and admire himself.

Ah, I never got tired of the plant and animal life in south Florida! Loved it!! Miss it. :o(

We have many Monk parakeets in the Dallas area

Here is a link that might be useful: Monk Parakeets

Our first home 33 years ago was in an older part of Orange County, CA. We had parrots in the trees in our neighborhood.

Below is a link to an interesting article about the parrots of the OC.

Jodi-

Here is a link that might be useful: Parrots prosper in Orange County

Yes. I live in a suburb of Ft Lauderdale and whenever we go to Target, we see a flock of green parrots in a particular area. (In fact there is even a street called Green Parrot Road nearby)

I enjoy seeing them, too.

I've also seen a lot of wild green parakeets in downtown Ft Lauderdale.

We also have burrowing owls nearby and they are downright adorable. They are very small, and they make a hole in the ground for their young and then Mom and Dad sorta stand guard. They will hiss at anyone who gets close by. I once looked up burrowing owls on Google, and sure enough, it said Central Park in Plantation, Florida, is known to have a decent population of them....

I have a Time Share in Treasure Is FL & early in the morning we get a flock of Parrots! So neat!!

Donna (^_^)

Not here in Idaho, but they were becominga danger for air travel on the Big Island when we lived there.

None here in VA that I know of unless they are in someone's home in a cage or the pet store. :o)

Carl Hiaasen wrote Hoot, a young adult novel about those burrowing owls in SE Florida. They made it a movie, too, but I didn't see it. I did read the book with my 12 y/o. (Hey, you're never too old for mom to read to you!) Kids work together to save an area of nests about to be destroyed by developers. It's very funny, he uses wit and irony to tell the story (and a few 4-letter words, FYI). Great for kids 12+ with an interest in environmental causes, and a sharp sense of humor. Good contemporary YA books. The characters and situations appeal even to kids who don't love to read (like my DS). They are "real" and have their dysfunctions. But they are motivated by a strong sense of right and wrong.

Sorry, I took a tangent there. I do that when I've had coffee too late in the evening (and other time, too).

Stephanie, that sounds like a wonderful book, and you sound like a wonderful mom to take time to read to your son. I'm definitely going to add that one to my list. There is another book you might enjoy, although I have not read it. It's non-fiction--"Wesley the Owl." It looks like a really nice story about a rescued owl.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wesley the Owl

None in Wisconsin - too cold in winter and not enough parrot type food.

Have parrots always been in S. CA? I used to live there as a kid and never heard of them being wild, or saw any.

None in KY, that would be kinda bizzare to see them here, though.

I remember them back as far as the 70's, but I don't remember them before that. There are theories--escaped from a pet shop that burned down, etc.--but I think they probably migrated up from Mexico and found they could live here. I hear them screaming as I type.

When we lived in Dunedin (Florida), we had them. They were mostly gray with green on the underside of their tails (I think those may have been the males). We also had parakeets--tons of them would line the utility lines around Largo, and one place on Indian Rocks Beach had houses for them and you could always see a lot of them there. Once we were taking a walk and saw a large, colorful parrot. I think someone's pet got loose. I watched the Lost/Found in the paper for a while, no luck.

No parrots so far in Ocala, though.

In Brevard County Florida: There is a wild flock of Yellow Nape Amazons living in the Melbourne Beach area.
On the main land near the Melbourne Harbor is a small flock of Conures Red heads, Blue Crowns and Nandays all together.
In south Palm Bay and Fellsmere there are flocks of Parakeets. Along with random sightings often from Keets to a Scarlet Macaw all through out the county that are escaped pets or blown in during storms.

CT

We have flocks of Quaker parakeets closer to the bay, but not here...owls and hawks would get them here. They nest in those big electric high tower things. I believe they have community nests made out of sticks.