THE IMMIGRANTS

Thousands of parakeets slept at El Espino Farm. But ever since Chiltiupán Street was widened, these birds have been seeking their nightly shelter in the urban zone of Antiguo Cuscatlán.

By Morena Lidia Azucena Mayorga, La Prensa Grafica
Regional Winner - Meso America,
The Reuters - IUCN Media Award - 2000

The sunshine is muted at 4:00 in the afternoon.

At the field used by the Association for the Friends of Children's Baseball Group (AGABEISI), in Antigua, Guatemala, the tranquility and mischievous bobbing of the eucalyptus branches makes this day's end more pleasant.

Thirty minutes later, a cloud of green comes racing in. The chirping and commotion gives them away, announcing their arrival. One, two, three, four, five…there are too many to count.

The parakeets pause for a moment once they reach the trees, and then continue circling nearby. While they perch on the trees, some eat leaves, others squabble, hang by one clawed foot performing acrobatics, or preen themselves.

At six o'clock, when it's almost completely dark, the parakeets quiet down a little, but not entirely. Residents say their noise will last until 4:00 a.m., when the birds go out looking for food.

"Here (at the AGABEISI baseball field) they spend the night, chattering the entire time. They leave very early, around 4:00 a.m.," says Marco Sandoval, who lives in the neighborhood.

One Year Ago

For a year now, these parakeets have wandered all over Cuscatlán looking for a place to sleep.

Biologist and researcher, Maritza Erazo explains that the birds used to spend the night somewhere else. But the trees where they slept are gone, cut down when Chiltiupán Street, on the El Espino property, was widened.

The parakeets flew off to the urban area of Antiguo Cuscatlán, with its many eucalyptus trees.

For the moment, their official sleeping quarters are distributed between the municipal playing field in Antiguo Cuscatlán, the AGABEISI sports complex and the field at Emiliani High School.

Scaring Them Off

The parakeets' squawking and flight produce a spectacle of nature. The scene is impressive. There, in the midst of a residential complex, yet another demonstration is taking place of the mutilation of Mother Nature. Nevertheless, some residents find the presence of these birds unbearable, and complain about the constant noise they make throughout the night.

"There are people who don't like them. I've heard shots being fired to scare them off," commented a resident, who preferred not to identify himself.

He said the bullets come from houses near the baseball field. "They fire the shots around 3:30 in the morning. I think it's wrong, because it's not the birds' fault. "Besides," he added, "a person could also get shot."

In addition, residents shoot off firecrackers next to the trees in hopes of frightening the birds and getting them go somewhere else.

We witnessed a woman come out of her house and light firecrackers to scare away the birds.

"It's because they make so much noise…but we don't kill them," quickly replied the woman, whose name is Lidia Reyes. She says the racket they make at night keeps her awake.

Despite the many negative responses, there are also people who love and defend the parakeets.

"Poor things, it's not their fault. I think they should be allowed to stay, because they have no other place to go," said María Antonieta Aguilar, an employee at the bakery near Albert Einstein University.

Nonetheless, residents have resorted to destroying the trees in order to get rid of the noisemakers. Nineteen of the trees these birds used as sleeping quarters on Bypass Road have been cut down.

Disoriented?

Biologist Maritza Erazo asserts that the widening of Chiltiupán Street in December 1998 damaged the parakeets' habitat.

Many of the trees that were destroyed served as shelter for the birds.

This specialist indicated that the parakeets' presence on the farm varies, depending on the time of year.

"They move from place to place in El Espino. When the street was built, they were living in that spot," affirmed Erazo.

She says that between November and January the parakeets sleep in the southern sector of El Espino, due to the high temperatures.

Erazo and other biologists included all of these explanations in the study entitled, "Characterization and description of sleeping sites used by parakeets on the El Espino farm," prepared under the auspices of the University of El Salvador, in February 1995.

She states that the roadwork coincided with the parakeets' stay at that part of the property.

In addition to the destruction of trees, the birds were also frightened away from the zone by the noise of the machines and the presence of the workers.

"I think they have become disoriented. They use natural points of reference to determine where they are, such as mountains, rivers and trees. But one day these landmarks just disappeared, " said Erazo.

In response, the birds migrated toward the urban zone of Antiguo Cuscatlán, according to Erazo.

She feels that the sleeping areas are not as important in the life of the parakeets as the zones where they reproduce and feed.

"They reproduce in rock walls and slopes and feed in coffee plantations. If these areas are lost, their life will be endangered, " she stressed.

Roberto Rivas, Ministry of the Environment's Environmental Administration Director, does not share Erazo's opinion, and warns against what he considers "guesswork."

"We have to look at the record, what the behavior of these birds has been from a technical and scientific perspective, in order to formulate possible theories. It [Erazo's explanation] is highly speculative and has no solid basis," he commented.

Caught Between the Noise and the People

Right now the parakeets are the new kids on the block, and they've had to adapt.

The trees at the playing fields offer some shelter, even though eucalyptus is not a favorite of these birds. But the noise, the smoke from vehicles, and the presence of human beings are detrimental to the parakeets.

"The noise of the cars, the smoke, and people are not a part of their habitat. The poor things have had to use their instinct to adapt," indicated the biologist.

Just as such noxious environmental stimuli can make human beings tense, parakeets are also stressed. As a result, they cannot sleep and make noise until dawn.

According to the biologist, this stress would affect their reproduction.

"The parakeet population would decline and could eventually terminate," she judged.

Life Goes On

While some people worry and others appear to be indifferent, the only thing for sure is that solutions will be hard to find.

The fact remains that the street has been constructed and the trees where the birds slept have been cut down, and the effects are irreversible.

"We hope that nature will take its course. They will probably locate somewhere else on the farm (El Espino), but it's impossible to predict," commented Erazo.

She suggested that regulations could be established protecting the places where parakeets reproduce and feed (coffee plantations and areas with vegetation.)

She also believes it would be useful to orient and educate the public, so as to raise awareness about environmental deterioration.

In the meantime, when afternoon falls, the parakeets circle Antigua Cuscatlán, looking for a branch where they can spend the night before flying out again in pursuit of survival.

New Sleeping Quarters

Dec. 8, 1998: Work begins to widen Chiltuipán Street. At that time the birds were sleeping in the zone where construction was taking place.

Dec. 1998: The birds move their sleeping quarters to the urban area of Antiguo Cuscatlán. Their first refuge is provided by a group of eucalyptus trees located at a hacienda belonging to the Miranda family.

April 1999 - Feb 2000: The MAG Forest and Fauna Service gives its authorization to cut down 12 trees on the bypass road near Albert Einstein University. The birds were sleeping in these trees.

Feb 26, 2000: FUNZEL condemns the destruction of the trees with the Environmental Division of PNC. Representatives of the environmental organization claim that the trees were cut because of residents' intolerance of the birds' presence.

Feb. 28: All the trees are cut, thanks to a permit issued by the MAG Forest Service.

Feb. 28-30: The parakeets move to the municipal field in Antiguo Cuscatlán and AGABEISI sports complex.

Sources: Biologist Maritza Erazo, FUNZEL and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock

The Parakeets Fly By…

They pass by in large bands, making a tremendous racket. They rest for a moment on some eucalyptus tree, and then continue their flight to join the others.

That's just the way parakeets are. Unlike catalnicas and chocyos, the green parakeet can be distinguished by its size and plumage.

Biologist Maritza Erazo studied these birds in 1995. She says parakeets are similar to parrots, and measure 25 to 30 centimeters.

Their plumage is also distinctive.

"It is totally green. This is not an attractive species, and maybe that's an advantage. The market is better for birds with more striking colors," says the expert.

"There is another species of parakeet that does have colorful plumage, known as the ruby-throated parakeet. Bird specialist Néstor Herrera says that there are fewer members of this variety.

Both types are on MAG's official list of vertebrate species that are threatened and in danger of extinction.

In Nature

Green parakeets maintain equilibrium in the ecosystem where they live, and they are capable of dispersing plant seeds over different types of terrain.

The specialist added that these birds can facilitate the availability of food for other animals. For example, if a parakeet pecks open a fruit and then lets it fall, it will serve as food for a land animal.

Parakeets also indicate if a green or protected zone has suffered some form of alteration or destruction.

"If parakeets were present in El Espino it was because that area met all the environmental conditions for having animals, " said Herrera.

Experts maintain that if parakeets do not come to certain green areas in Greater San Salvador it's because these sites are no longer suitable for wildlife.

A Large Family

The parakeet is part of the citacidous family, present in tropical countries. Parrots, guaras and cotorras belong to this family, characterized by their strong hooked bill, long wings and pincer-like feet.

According to the Manual to Birds in El Salvador," by Austin Rand and Melvin Taylor, these birds eat fruits and are often sociable.

They place their nests in trees, burrows and sloping hills.

Their period of reproduction is in June and July.

Parakeets fly to coffee plantations to feed. and sleep in leafy trees. Their favorite trees are the parpetos.

Permission to Destroy

On February 26, 12 trees located between Bypass Road and Albert Einstein Avenue were cut down.

They had been used as a sleeping site by some of the parakeets that, according to biologist Maritza Erazo, have migrated to El Espino farm.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock's Forest and Fauna Service issued the permits allowing them to be cut.

"We received applications stating that the trees were a menace to residents' homes, which were already being ruined by their roots," said Natural Resources Director, Julio Olano.

The justification that appears on the permit says: "Authorization to cut due to damage to 50 meters of sidewalk and the boundary wall of the residential area, sidewalks that are completely cracked, and because they [the trees] have grown too tall."

Olano added that the trees were fifteen years old, meaning that their use-life had expired.

Damage to the infrastructure of the homes was not the only reason for cutting down the trees. Applications also mentioned the parakeets.

"My daughter is allergic to the parakeets that live in the trees," reads the application presented to MAG by Francisco Cañas Padilla.

Olano admitted that MAG took Cañas' request into consideration because the parakeets were affecting the health of the residents.

"We are aware that parakeets were arriving, but their presence is not compatible with humans because they cause disease," he indicated.

All in all there were ten eucalyptus trees, one flor de fuego and one maquillstrual. MAG recommended that the residents put in two trees for each one cut down, and suggested they plant almendras del río, maquillshuats, San Andrés, and others.

Intentional Destruction?

Some of the residents who asked to remain anonymous stated that the trees were cut down for more reasons than the damage being caused to homes; getting rid of the parakeets' noise was another.

"They cut them down because the people didn't want the parakeets near their houses. All that about the trees damaging the houses is untrue," said one resident.

Others denied this.

"No, that's wrong. If the trees were cut it was because they were very tall and because the roots were invading the houses," said gardener Francisco Cuéllar.

The president of Fundación Zoológico de El Salvador (FUNZEL), Zulma de Mendoza, claims that the trees' destruction was due to the presence of the parakeets and because residents did not want the feathers falling on their houses. FUNZEL asked the Environmental Division of the PNC to stop the trees' destruction.

Red Alert for Green Plumage

Once upon a time there were some charming and playful children, all dressed in green. When the sun began to slip down behind the mountain, they started back on their usual trip around the city.

Chattering uncontainably, they reached their tall, leafy bedrooms.

When the sun rose the next morning they left quickly and joyously in all different directions. To fly…

And so it went, time and again. Until one day their little beds of leaves and branches had disappeared, struck down to the ground, soon to become firewood.

The little green children were sad, but there was nothing to be done. Night was falling and they needed to find some place to sleep.

Nearby they found a similar spot, not as safe, but there they spent the night. And the next one and the next…

One day the same thing occurred, and their bedrooms were destroyed again. "Could it be that no one wants us around?" they wondered.

They had to find a new place. A lot of children come here and play ball. They practically don't bother us, and there's even a nice man who brings us water to quench our thirst.

The little green travelers spend the night telling one another all about what they did during the day. At times they are frightened because shots come from some of the windows. Or strangers come to the foot of their bedrooms and shoot off firecrackers to scare them.

It's true. They make noise, eat leaves, lose their feathers and defecate constantly. That's the way parakeets are. Practically untouchable, unpredictable…playful... defenseless.

Over a year ago, Morena came to the editing room with the first information about the parakeets that had lived on the El Espino property for years.

We thought it would be a routine job: investigate, interview, do a photo session, write up the story and publish.

But it didn't turn out that way. The parakeets are unpredictable, and even more so when human beings barge in and change their habitat.

Maybe it's not even important anymore to mention that the widening of Chiltiapán Street was the main reason the parakeets' sleeping quarters moved.

Everything was against us: the unstable weather, the difficult lighting, the height…Is it really that difficult to photograph a wild parakeet? If you asked us that question, and especially if you ask Félix Amaya, you would definitely get a resounding "yes" in response.

For more than two weeks, 5:50 in the afternoon was our "rush hour," when we needed to get the best ladder available, find a backyard with good light, get the camera and tripod in place on top of the roof, repair any accidental damages...all just to photograph these squawking green birds that tear excitedly around San Salvador in all directions.

We were witnesses when a maid came out of a house in Antiguo Cuscatlán and started shooting firecrackers at the foot of a eucalyptus tree the parakeets were using to sleep in.

We also talked to people whose quiet outing is to go watch the playful acrobatics of the parakeets.

We hope this story will make everyone aware of the danger threatening these little children dressed in green, still playing in the skies of San Salvador during the afternoons. Because we still have time to save them from complete exile, and prevent the day when they soar into the sky at dawn, never to return.