Monk Parakeets

Jackie shot this picture a couple of weeks ago near Town Lake. Here's what she said about the shot and this flock often seen around Austin:

There’s an enormous bird’s nest atop a power pole at the corner of Sandra Muraida Way and Lamar. We can see it from our apartment but can’t see inside it from here. Walking below we always hear chirps but no bird sightings until yesterday. Lo and behold, we confirmed that the nest belongs to feral monk parakeets, year-round residents of Austin since the early ‘70s. Cornell’s Ornithology site says “They are the only parrots to nest communally; dozens live together year-round in large, multifamily stick nests built in trees and on power poles.” The bird at the top of the shot posed for me patiently as I clumsily dug my phone out of my backpack and zoomed in. There’s another parakeet visible at the lower left of the shot; looks like that one is busily doing nest maintenance.