Rescuing Wild Quakers

Barry A. Schwartz, vice-president and secretary of Feathered Friends, is also a geologist and Construction Project Manager (CPM) at the New York City Department of Design and Construction. This City agency designs and constructs many structure and infrastructure projects throught New York City. Recently, a small-scale project at the Throgs Neck Little League ball field (TNLL) in The Bronx turned into a very big event.
In March 2006, due to the possibility of having to remove four nesting sites of wild Quaker Parakeets at the TNLL, Barry was called in as the agency's resident "expert" on parrots to assist. Barry, in turn, called upon qualified individuals and organizations to assess the situation at TNLL, and it wasn't until June 7, 2007, that finally, after some project delays, that the actual removal of nests began.
Prior to nest removal, some 41 beautiful Quaker chicks, ranging in estimated age from just a few days old to about 4-5 weeks old, along with 5 eggs, were humanely removed and placed in the loving and caring hands of Marc Johnson (Foster Parrots Ltd, Massachusetts) and Donna Dwyer of Connecticut, with Alison Evan-Fragale (Edgewaterparrots.com) and Steve Baldwin (Brooklynparrots.com) on hand to provide further support and assistance. Barry, along with DDC CPM's Richard Meserole and James Ruchalski, did the actual removal of chicks and eggs after first probing the nests with a special miniature camera.
The light replacement project will end by the end of June 2007, and by then, the adult Quakers, some 20-30 or so birds at last count, will begin to rebuild their nests. According to the directors of the TNLL, these Quakers have been residing at the ball field for over 20 years. Hopefully, they will be able to lay another clutch of eggs before the end of the summer.