Yes, we have wild parrots in Los Angeles.

EDIT: i added one of the original uncropped images to this post.
________________________________________________________

Don't ask where they came from, because everyone will give you a different opinion. Some people think they escaped from Busch Gardens. Other people think they just escaped from their owners, or were released by them. There is also a theory that an aviary caught fire in the fifties and they were released then. Still, some folks think they just flew here from Mexico. You can hear them passing over nearly everyday because they are extremely noisy and can be heard from a good distance away.

No matter how they got here, they are always a treat to see. They are, however, very difficult to photograph, because they are extremely fast and never stay in one place very long. They also prefer very tall trees.

My wife and I were walking our dogs the other day when we startled a small flock that was perched in a very low tree. They flew right over my head, missing me by inches. I followed them down the block where they had landed in someone's apple tree. These are pics of them gorging themselves on the apples.

I've been told that the official species is mitered parakeet or mitered conure. They are much larger than the pet parakeets we are familiar with, almost as big as Amazons.

For those who are interested in the technical stuff, here is the info. I usually take my Canon EOS T6s crop sensor DSLR on my neighborhood walks. Lately I've been using the EF-S 18-135mm lens, which is equivalent to a 27-200mm on a full frame camera. I shot these at f/8, 1/2000th second, ISO auto. The really cool thing is that these are extreme crops. A 200mm lens really isn't long enough for wildlife and birds. However, I'm able to crop down to a very small percentage of the original image using Topaz SharpenAI. Topaz really has changed the way I shoot. These shots would not have been possible with this camera and lens without it. The last image is one of the original uncropped files.

Enjoy!

Ross











This next one needs a little work. It's too dark.





This is one of the original uncropped images. It's the first photo that I posted above.