Werewolves? No, but . . .

Looking out the window into our backyard (our neighbor's backyard, to be more exact), I was reminded of our trip to Great Britain many years ago. . .

One of the most memorable things I saw in England wasn't a castle (though we certainly saw our fair share), grave sites (including Henry the VIII and Churchill's), or even Stonehenge.  It was parakeets!

Seems that Great Britain as a feral parakeet problem.  "Feral parakeets" -- sort of sounds like something Mony Python would come up with.  But, it is a fact.  The origins of these birds are subject to speculation, but they are generally thought to have bred from birds that escaped from captivity.

According to my friends at Wikipedia (you can make fun of them, but they do provide sources), there are many published accounts of how the parakeets escaped, including:

* Parakeets escaped from the branch of Ealing Studios used for the filming of The African Queen — Isleworth Studios — in 1951
* Parakeets escaped from damaged aviaries during the Great Storm of 1987
* And my favorite: A pair were released by Jimi Hendrix in Carnaby Street, London, in the 1960s

So, I don't know if there are, in fact, werewolves in London, but I do know that there are wild and exotic parakeets.  As far as my neighbor's backyard?  At the birdfeeder this morning was brilliant red cardinals along with always exotic (to me at least) yellow and black goldfinches.  Not exactly parakeets, but a beautiful sight to start the day.   And, I didn't even need to travel to London!

Carpe diem Life,
David Kuhn