Rome and the "Natural World"

I have been a little surprised by the presence of nature in Rome. The swallows who swoop out over the terrace in the morning and evening are a pleasant surprise. The gull who cries outside my window during my nap is not. While I have always found gulls to be rather annoying, they seem worse here. First, they are unexpected. Rome is not far from the beach, but I don't normally see gulls in cities. Also, they are loud, and they are loud in various ways! Sometimes they seem to cry like a whinny cat (specifically, they sound like Siamese) and these cries will go on for several minutes. Other times they give short, loud, startling shouts that sound almost like someone laughing or a donkey baying. I'm not a fan of any of the noises they make.

More exciting than the gulls are the parrots that seem to live up in the park on Monte Celio. While I have seen some soaring above me up into the palms and pines, I more frequently hear them bickering with each other up in the trees. They appear to be on the smaller side and are mostly all green. The park also has a little fountain with huge koi and smallish turtles. Children (and me) flock around the fountain watching the fish and turtles. The turtles are so tame they even let you touch their shells (which is actually not as exciting as I had thought). I had not expected little natural treats in the city, but I intend to find more.