Parrots’ tower nest destroyed

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. – The wild quaker parrots protested vehemently when an expert tore apart the nest they’d built on a decommissioned cellular-phone tower here.

But there were no chicks or eggs in the nest, and the birds so far have eluded efforts to capture them. By dusk Friday, about a day after the nest demolition, at least two birds were back.

Supporters hope they’ll rebuild in the new cell tower, which is about twice as tall as the old 60-footer.

The sticks that made up the nest are in the bed of Fred Olin’s pickup truck.

He coyly denies any knowledge of how they got there from the ground around the base of the tower.

But he plans to park nearby when the old tower is removed – just in case the parrots have further use for them.

“I believe given an opportunity, they’re going to rebuild a nest,” Olin said Friday.

“My hope is they’ll rebuild on the new tower.”

City officials required removal of the nest on the advice of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, as a condition of allowing Cingular’s new tower.

The tower will improve cell-phone coverage for Cingular, T-Mobile and Sprint customers.

On Thursday, Donald Norman of Norman Wildlife took the nest apart and found no young birds inside, said bird-rescue operator Cate Clark of Port Orchard, who was there.

Clark was designated to take any birds that were captured, but none were.

She had her pet quaker parrot, Trooper, on site Thursday, hoping to attract the wild birds. But they were interested only in the nest, a formidable structure that overlooked South Kitsap High, and tried to start rebuilding it Thursday evening, she said.

The capture option is spurred by concerns that the birds could displace or threaten the food supply for native species. Cingular plans to arrange another capture attempt next week, possibly using a decoy bird, said Craig Bartlett, spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“We’re hoping for a successful outcome to this, but it’s an ongoing effort right now,” he said.

Clark commended Cingular for the efforts made to see that the birds are handled humanely.

She said she’s seen four parrots near the nest, but only two were around for the demolition Thursday. She says she got e-mails later Thursday about the return of the other two.

“They were pitching a hissy fit” about the nest being gone, said Clark, who expects the resilient birds to rebuild.

Olin says he’s seen as many as six of the birds at one time.

That’s about what authorities expect, despite reports of 24 to 30 parrots.

The birds are native to South America, where they’re sometimes considered pests in agricultural areas.

So how’d they get to the Northwest?

The story is that five of them escaped en route to an area pet shop in 2001 or 2002.

It’s not clear whether they’re breeding here, or have been joined by one or more escapees.

Olin is among their biggest fans. At one point, he circulated a petition opposing the birds’ capture and collected more than 1,000 signatures.

“The big thing is, they’re not trapped,” he said Friday. “That was my goal.”

If the parrots are caught, they’ll be handed over to a member of the Olympic Bird Fanciers group, which already has built them an aviary.