Green parrots - Wix Image. I haven't gotten close enough to photograph any.
Several times each day screeching flocks of green parrots whirl past the apartment building where I am staying. Someone in the apartment building on the other side of the swimming pool seems to have set up a feeder for them on the balcony. These parrots, unlike some I have met, don't sit calmly on a low perch waiting for a photo opportunity.
Cutting the grass.
There are plenty of other noises in this neighbourhood. At present a man is cutting the lawn of an adjacent house using a noisy, gas powered, string trimmer. Last night soon after I had fallen asleep the garbage truck came by, banging and rattling for a few minutes before moving on. At 5 am I heard a noise I had noticed before but never investigated. It seemed to be a truck moving slowly - was it a street sweeper? Opening the window louvers I saw a truck dispersing a gray fog, apparently some kind of insecticide, which my host later confirmed is a preventive measure against the mosquitoes that cause dengue fever. When we lived in the United Arab Emirates a man with a backpack used to fog our neighbourhood as part of that county's battle against malaria.
Garbage trucks show up any hour of the day or night.
Of course there is some traffic noise although we are not on a busy street and that sound changes when the cars are driving through water. The sound of pounding rain, sometimes accompanied by thunder, has been frequent. Occasonally I hear the workers at a new high rise building under construction nearby.
In the apartment we try to minimize the use of air conditioning. When we do use it, it is noisy and I often hear the sound of the neighbours' ac unit as well. The swimming pool is right under the big window of the living-dining room and some weekends it has been the site of lively private parties with adults talking, children squealing and music playing. Sometimes a neighbour's baby is crying and occasionally the hound of the Baskervilles howls nearby. Fortunately both seem content and quiet most of the time.
On several occasions there have been parties in the neighbourhood park. Only one night was I kept awake by loud music from one of the local pubs. Over the Christmas season I was awakened one night by a loud explosion that I realized was fireworks and Christmas Eve fireworks were going off in every direction as midnight approached.
To see what is happening outside I open the glass louvers.
While there is much more to hear in this neighbourhood than parrots, their squawking is my favourite sound.