When I visited London recently, I expected to find many connections between London and Australia, given the shared history and culture. What I did NOT expect to find was a reminder of Australia’s colorful parrots.

On the way through Hyde Park to Kensington Palace, I saw a group of small lime-green parrots. Turns out that London has wild parakeets--thousands of them. In fact, the birds are common in the City of London and have been spotted in the other 32 boroughs. The UK may have about 50,000 wild parakeets, with sightings as far north as Scotland.

The ring-necked parakeet, also called the rose-ringed parakeet, thrives in urban areas. Their natural habitat covers Africa, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. How do they survive London’s winter? These parakeets, I discovered, are comfortable in the cold. Probably not surprising, since they can live up to 4,000 feet in the Himalayas.

No one knows for sure how the parakeets wound up in London. One theory is that they escaped from the movie set of The African Queen in 1951. Another is that the Great Storm of 1987 wrecked aviaries surrounding London, and the birds escaped. One interesting rumor posits that Jimi Hendrix released a breeding pair on Carnaby Street in the 1960s. His girlfriend at the time, however, rebuts that story. The most likely theory is that today’s parakeets are the offspring of escaped or released pets. Parakeets have been kept as pet birds in England for centuries, and reports of escaped birds breeding date back to 1855.

As with invasive species in Australia, public opinion is divided on the parakeets. Some worry about their effect on native bird species and habitat, while others love the bird’s colorful personality and raucous charms. For me, they were a reminder of home.

On my first visit to Melbourne, I rounded a corner into a small alley and encountered a vibrant piece of street art. I have since discovered that Melbourne is famous for its creative, ever-changing urban art.

Some of the hidden art has been officially commissioned by the City of Melbourne while others have appeared spontaneously with the blessing of property owners. The City of Melbourne distinguishes between street art and graffiti, noting on its website that most people don’t like graffiti tagging, but the community really appreciates “larger, more artistic pieces, or murals placed in appropriate locations with the required permission.”

Melbourne’s urban art has become a tourist attraction for local and overseas visitors. Street art tours have sprung up, along with walking maps, curated lists, and virtual tours.

All these colorful surprises sure make alleyways more interesting.

When October arrives, I expect to see autumn leaves. But here in Canberra, it's spring. As I struggled to muster some spring spirit, a friend recommended going to Floriade.

Billed as Australia's biggest celebration of spring, Floriade is Canberra's annual flower festival. It's "30 days of blooms, food, and entertainment." The name comes from the Latin floriat, which means to design with flowers. The festival began in 1988 to mark Canberra's 75th anniversary and Australia's bicentenary.

Held in Commonwealth Park at Regatta Point, Floriade features more than one million blooming bulbs and annuals, music, entertainment, workshops, and activities for children. This year also focused on the Canberra region's food, wine, beer, and spirits.

Floriade is an annual tradition for many Canberrans, who look forward to greeting their friends. As one Canberran friend told my daughter, "It's not Floriade until you see someone you know."

What a wonderful way to greet new and old friends, along with ushering in spring Down Under.

The first time I encountered a gang-gang cockatoo, he had just denuded a conifer of all its seeds and left the rubbish on my back patio. He looked pretty pleased with himself while I went searching for a broom.

I don’t see gang-gangs often because they prefer the northern suburbs of Canberra. They’re also part-year residents that leave in the spring to breed in the surrounding mountain ranges. When I do see them, I’m always struck by their sociable personality.

They’re usually found in pairs or small groups. The females are grey, and the males have a red crest. The female and male birds form close monogamous couples.

They nest in deep hollows in tall trees, and the females use their strong beaks to dig out the hole for nesting. As I discovered, they eat seeds from both native and introduced trees and shrubs. They’ll also eat berries, fruits, nuts, and insects.

The name “gang-gang” comes from the language of either the Ngunnawal or Wiradjuri indigenous people. The name may be onomatopoeic, since their call is raspy with a rising inflection, similar to a creaking hinge.

Gang-gang cockatoos are so likeable and distinctive that they have become the animal emblem for the Australian Capital Territory, where I live. Both the ACT Parks and Conservation Service and the Canberra Ornithologists Group include gang-gangs in their logos.

​I look forward to my next gang-gang encounter because their cheeky swagger makes me laugh.