WATERVLIET — They haven't exactly flown the coop, but one of the two monk parakeets that have been roosting on a 21st Street utility pole has a new address.
Earlier this week one of the pair was captured and moved to Berkshire Bird Paradise, a sanctuary in Petersburgh, according to Lisa King, a state Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman.
King said DEC and National Grid decided the birds should be moved because the intricate, rapidly expanding twig nest they were building next to an electrical transformer poses a fire hazard.
"That's why it's important to relocate them," King said.
DEC and National Grid workers were experimenting with a trap when they caught one of the birds. The other is still at large.
"There is a plan to remove the other bird," said King. "That bird seems to be OK."
There were no eggs in the nest, she said.
The parakeets were spotted by residents and workers in the area about a month ago on the pole between 2nd and 3rd avenues. The species is native to South America but has colonized in areas downstate and in Connecticut over the last several decades.