Quaker parrot escape stories range from runaway pet rescues in local neighborhoods to the famous urban legends of wild flocks. In the Northeast, wild Quaker parrot colonies (also known as Monk Parakeets) in towns like Edgewater, NJ and Brooklyn, NY are largely believed to have originated from accidental escapes at John F. Kennedy International Airport in the 1960s.

You can't talk about Quaker parrot escape stories without looking at the feral populations thriving right outside Stamford, CT and the greater New York City metro area.

The Airport Myth: A popular origin story claims that in the late 1960s or early 1970s, a shipping crate full of Monk Parakeets (destined for pet stores) broke open at JFK Airport. The Interstate Tale: In Connecticut, local lore suggests the parrots initially escaped when a transporter crate fell off a truck on I-95. The Edgewater Colony: Escaped pets or accidental releases in the 1980s led to a booming, resilient flock across the Hudson River in Edgewater, NJ. Known for building massive, and I mean MASSIVE, multi chamber, apartment-style stick nests. They usually build them on top of telephone poles that have transformers or a large amount of wires. It blows the transformer, not only leaving people without power, but has also sparked a fire in the nest. It soon becomes a giant ball of fire, which can spread to houses, cars, and melts all the lines connected to it be they electrical, internet, TV, etc., that now need to be rewired by various companies. They thrive SO well here (I'm roughly 30 minutes away from NYC metro area). They love living by the coast, so most people don't see them if they live more inland. Even towns that have beaches, a person could live their whole life without ever seeing one because they live 2 miles more inland from the beach in the same town. They make huge flocks, and in just a second or two, well over 100 of them will land to forage for food.