Discover Edgewater > Monk Parakeets > History: 6/13/98

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The Record (Bergen County, NJ)

Saturday, June 13, 1998
PARAKEETS NEST BLAMED IN EDGEWATER BLACKOUT AFFECTING 150
RICHARD COWEN, Staff Writer

Exotic parakeets that have been nesting on telephone polls are being blamed for a fire and power outage that left about 150 PSE&G customers without electricity on Friday morning.

The birds have built huge nests atop utility polls in town, some of them 6 feet tall. Friday morning, a spark from a power line ignited a nest on Hilliard Avenue. The fire spread to the transformer and knocked out power to the surrounding neighborhood.

Six baby parakeets too young to fly were trapped in the burning nest and perished. About 150 Public Service Electric and Gas Co. customers lost power for more than an hour while utility workers removed and replaced the scorched poll. No one was injured.

Edgewater Firefighter Bill Schiess arrived at the scene moments after the 7:26 a.m. alarm sounded. Schiess saw about six birds escape the flames.

"They all flew out of the nest at the same time," Schiess said.

"They tried to stay with the younger birds for as long as they could." The birds, monk parakeets, are native to South America. No one is certain how or when dozens of the birds arrived in Edgewater, but they have been building nests atop utility polls and in treetops in the town for more than a decade.

Some residents find them to be a welcome addition to the riverfront community, where the natural landscape is being rapidly replaced by strip malls and condominiums. Others, however, recognize that the birds have become a nuisance and would like to get rid of them, but can't figure out how.

Last year, PSE&G sent workers up the same utility pole on Hilliard Avenue to remove a nest and scatter the birds. PSE&G had the official blessing of the state Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife, which is concerned that parakeets penchant for eating fruits and vegetables could make them a garden-variety pest. But the rousting of the nest bothered many residents, who protested that the birds had a right to stay.

The birds apparently felt the same way, and built the nest all over again. It apparently got so big that it wrapped around a power line, and when it arced on Friday morning, the fire started.

"It was almost like a tenement fire that left a lot of birds homeless," said Chuck Patch, the Edgewater fire code official.

Officials believe that the birds are attracted to utility poles because the transformers block the wind and give off heat, allowing the birds to survive the winter.

By Friday afternoon, two birds had returned to the same Hilliard Avenue pole just as utility workers were restoring power. "They're back already," Schiess said.

PSE&G contacted the Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife following the fire Friday. The power company and state officials are planning to meet to discuss the parakeet problem.

Larry Herrighty, the supervising biologist from the wildlife division, said he understood residents concerns about humane treatment.

But he said safety is the top priority.

"We have to look at the larger picture," Herrighty said. "If they start a fire, then that affects the whole neighborhood. Or a blackout.

That's a real problem."