Remembering Our Lost Parakeets

Having a broad range across the southeast, it is entirely possible that the now extinct Carolina Parakeets were observable on the land that comprises my neighborhood in Cary. The last wild Parakeet was killed in Florida in 1904, and in all probability based on my interpretation of published reports any Parakeets in the Cary area were long gone by the last quarter of the 19th Century, possibly before the town was incorporated in 1871. And even with that, my surmise from reading the literature is that they were probably not very common here even in their heyday. But any extinction is a great loss, and knowing that one of the most notable extinctions occurred in places like this is a sobering thought indeed. I wonder what an active flock would look and sound like, especially had they been able to adapt to the urbanization of the Piedmont. I envy those who had the privilege of seeing the Parakeets and welcoming them to their homes.