116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
What's Going Feral?
Apr. 17, 2009 11:43 am
Around here, feral/displaced flood cats have been making news.
But in New York City, it's feral parakeets that are making headlines. From the New York Times:
These birds - also called monk parrots or Quaker parrots - are attracted to the heat given off by the transformers and other equipment high up on the utility poles. Their nests often wreck the electrical equipment by engulfing the electrical devices and blocking ventilation.
Perhaps some of our flood cats could be deployed to Brooklyn to take a bite out of the parakeet population. Just a thought.
The resulting trapped heat can cause the devices to short-circuit and often, to catch fire, sometimes leading to local power failures. Con Edison officials have tried to shoo the birds with nets, spikes, deterrent sprays and sound machines.
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