I have written numerous posts about the status of our Satsuma tangerine tree.
We planted the tree in March 2013.
It had a lot of pretty flowers on it which is what enticed us to buy it.
Within a couple of weeks the flowers all fell off with no fruits to show for it.
We were not discouraged. We figured the tree was still a baby and not ready for anything but growing.
And in three years, it did grow.
Flowers bloomed and then fell off.
Flowers came again, bore minuscule fruits and fell off.
I finally gave up writing about our hopes for a fruit.
Then ants came leaving black aphids on the young leaves.
We used Tree Tanglefoot to stop the ants from going up the tree trunk.
A few months ago, FIVE fruit appeared.
And they didn't fall off!
Is it possible? Could we actually have some fruit this year?
The five baby fruit are growing beautifully with no sign of giving up again.
(I know. I know. I know we can buy a whole bag of clementines for $3.99 or something like that.)
Sigh...
Anyway...
A friend of ours on the other part of the island told us about parrots or giant parakeets that were proliferating in the islands.
Apparently, because the birds make lousy pets (they bite), people have let them go and they multiplied.
They are now agricultural pests and are eating up the tropical fruits on the island.
Art's friend told him they swarm onto his neighbor's tree and eat all his oranges.
Arrrrghhhh...
Since we don't have these birds yet in our part of the island, I thought we might be safe.
However, the last couple of days we've heard very loud squawking in the skies. Some of the birds swooped down and we were able to see that they are those red-masked parakeets.
They sat on our neighbor's tree and stared at me.
"We'll be back when your fruits are ready," they said.
Shiver....
We planted the tree in March 2013.
It had a lot of pretty flowers on it which is what enticed us to buy it.
Within a couple of weeks the flowers all fell off with no fruits to show for it.
We were not discouraged. We figured the tree was still a baby and not ready for anything but growing.
And in three years, it did grow.
Flowers bloomed and then fell off.
Flowers came again, bore minuscule fruits and fell off.
I finally gave up writing about our hopes for a fruit.
Then ants came leaving black aphids on the young leaves.
We used Tree Tanglefoot to stop the ants from going up the tree trunk.
A few months ago, FIVE fruit appeared.
And they didn't fall off!
Is it possible? Could we actually have some fruit this year?
The five baby fruit are growing beautifully with no sign of giving up again.
(I know. I know. I know we can buy a whole bag of clementines for $3.99 or something like that.)
Sigh...
Anyway...
A friend of ours on the other part of the island told us about parrots or giant parakeets that were proliferating in the islands.
Apparently, because the birds make lousy pets (they bite), people have let them go and they multiplied.
They are now agricultural pests and are eating up the tropical fruits on the island.
Art's friend told him they swarm onto his neighbor's tree and eat all his oranges.
Arrrrghhhh...
Since we don't have these birds yet in our part of the island, I thought we might be safe.
However, the last couple of days we've heard very loud squawking in the skies. Some of the birds swooped down and we were able to see that they are those red-masked parakeets.
They sat on our neighbor's tree and stared at me.
"We'll be back when your fruits are ready," they said.
Shiver....
Ah nature. Always there and waiting. Funny thing is that everything in Hawaii came from somewhere else, so we shouldn't be surprised when other new arrivals like it and decide to stay.
ReplyDeletePS parrots don't bite if they are treated well. Unfortunately, some people obtain parrots and fail to take care of them. Its the humans who are at fault.
Oh yes, it's definitely humans at fault here.
DeleteThere is a gang of those parrots. They are very noisy and attack fruit, leaving bits of chopped up fruit skins on the ground, then move on. I was told that they were from the now defunct Paradise Park that used to have many varieties of birds in cages, and then they were let go to fly free.
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge banyan tree in McCully where ALL of them come home to roost. Hundreds of them, after they have their forages and excursions during the day, return to sleep in that banyan tree.
Not sure if they eat tangerines. They like papayas and mangoes. Next time you see them eyeing your tree, tell them to go away. Maybe they can understand, lol.
On Kauai, they are the ring rose parakeets. They're beautiful and I can see flocks of them flying off to forage on some mornings when I drive in to work. They're also noisy little buggers. I know they have hit the west side corn fields, and some people have lost mangoes to their foraging. But we don't yet have them in our neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteI do definitely concede that they are indeed beautiful and BIG... and NOISY. Wow! That's a different kind of parakeet on Kauai from what we have here, isn't it? Then again I think there are different types around the island now.
DeleteI hope they leave your fruit alone. Keep us updated.
ReplyDeleteConures are noisy noisy birds and I, for the life of me, do not know why ppl own them. I am a parrot/bird lover and these conures chatter loudly all day long. Here in Mililani we have flocks of Alexandrine parakeets - they're HUGE parakeets and are noisy too but as pets they are excellent and not as noisy and they talk very well. Feral birds never ever make good pets anyway, they gotta be hand fed to be tame or at least handled a lot when young. Too many folks buy them cuz they are so pretty without any knowledge of the special care needed for them. *sigh* My late bff was one of the bird curators at Paradise Park and that myth about them releasing their birds is a terrible urban myth. PP really took care of their animals and yes, there were a few escapes of course over the years, but they would NEVER and have NEVER purposely let their birds loose. If anything they were more sensitive to the impact of releasing wild birds into our precious ecosystem. Plus a lot of those birds were worth serious money ($10K)....it's like saying the Humane Society is letting pure bred dogs loose on the community. Sadly that myth is told over and over, incld. local parrot groups I'm in, since no one is left to refute those lies.
ReplyDeleteIs this BB? Thank you for the information. That is very interesting. We did have our doubts that Paradise Park would just let loose their beautiful parrots. Thank you for the clarification. Wow! I haven't even heard of the Alexandrine parakeets.
Delete$10K??? Seriously? Wow! That's amazing!
Good to know. The next time someone tells me that about Paradise Park I'll say a friend of a friend in the know says that it wasn't so. I wonder what they did with all those birds? Maybe they gave them to the zoo?
DeleteWell, cover the tree up with some kind of netting. Show those robbers a thing or two!
ReplyDeleteEverything is just trying to live. Hope you get to enjoy your fruit.
ReplyDeletewe have strawberries comning on now and just have to share them with the birds and snails...unfortuately...lol!
ReplyDeleteThey are very smart birds!
ReplyDeleteKAY i think you live in a fantastic climate zone
ReplyDeleteOh no! The birds arrive just when you finally get your first fruit?! There is no justice!
ReplyDeletePeople and their pe(s)ts! Terrapins have been tipped into one of the lakes nearby and have grown huge apparently - someone told me they grab the small ducklings.
ReplyDeleteI suppose its like the cowbirds and squirrels at my feeders. They need to eat too, and why not the low hanging fruit.
ReplyDeleteOh
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to taste them!
I too hope you get to taste the fruit from your tree, finally! Those parakeets are noisy, I've heard them before, but we don't have them flying around in the trees in the Pacific Northwest! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, no. Those birds have a sixth sense about finding favored treats.
ReplyDeleteTry an owl statue, I'm not sure if they work on tropical birds, but they scare the local ones
ReplyDeleteMy daughter tried putting up owl hangings in the tree above her car and the birds laughed. She then added snakes and the neighbors laughed too, I'm sure.
DeleteThat happened in Florida also but worse were the pythons and boas that got turned loose and multiplied. Lets hope your local castaways don't like tangerines.
ReplyDeleteits amazing how the stupidity of humans has such a ripple effect,, releasing an annoying pet into the wild has really back fired,,
ReplyDelete