A few birds at the Vondelpark

Yesterday was a beautiful and warm day, it was about 14 degrees C and that made it the warmest day in January in ages! I was still recuperating from my stomach flue and decided to take a little walk around the Vondelpark. It felt and smelled like Spring. Birds were singing and were very visibly present on the bare branches.

This green parakeet was flying to this tree (his home, maybe) and started chatting away. When he noticed I was looking and talking to him he got curious and looked at me in return.

Parakeets are not natives to the Netherlands as it usually gets too cold in wintertime. There are many stories about how the parakeets came to the Vondelpark, but one theory is that a swarm of these exotic birds came flying over from Asia and settled in the park. They make a a lot of noise while flying and make nests in old trees. Living in trees is probably how they survive our winters.