Review: Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, The (2004)

"Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill"

Documaker Judy Irving ports her camera and crew to the
wild country of San Francisco and visits self-taught
parrot expert Mark Bittner as he tends a flock of
mostly Cherry-headed conures (a species of parrots)
that have taken up residence in that city as "Wild
Parrots of Telegraph Hill."

Bittner was a homeless musician who relocated to San
Francisco to find fame and fortune but things didn't
turn out quite that way. Instead, he fell in with a
flock of wild parrot that came together from a myriad
of places unknown. The musical, self-proclaimed
"dharma bum" (a homeless seeker of truth) took, at
first, to feeding the colorful birds but, as the years
passed, became an integral part of their little world,
even nursing sick birds back to health.

Documentor Irving uses Mark Bittner's book, The Wild
Parrots of Telegraph Hill, as the basis for this
insightful look into a wild aviary world, little known
but thriving on the city's heights. As Mark tells his
story, he is surrounded by his feathered wards as they
perch upon his head, shoulders and arms, feeding on
his cup of sunflower seeds, as he tells their story.

Bittner began what would become his all consuming
passion when he noticed, years before, wild parrots
coming to feed on his terrace. Slowly and carefully,
he moved closer and closer to the birds until, one
day, he held out a handful of food and, with great
patience, waited for something to happen. Eventually,
one parrot, then several, began to feed from his hand.
As the years passed, the flock grew more comfortable
with Mark's presence and began to treat him as one of
their family.

Per Bittner, his flock (there are two in the city,
now) numbers about 45 members, with each having a name
and, as the story unfolds, a unique personality. The
majority of the flock is made up with the
Cherry-headed conures and you get to know some of them
individually. Whereas the norm for the parrots is to
want out when inside, one of them, named Mingus, wants
nothing more than to stay inside with Mark. Picasso
and Sophie are an affectionate pair of birds with
diminutive Sophie caring for her big lug, Picasso.
Pushkin and Olive are a troubled couple where the
former was forced to "divorce" his mate because of
Olive's destructive behavior. Then there is the
heartbreaker of the tragic life of little Tupelo – his
story, literally, brought tears of sorrow to my eyes.

The most prominent of the parrot players in Bittner's
little flock is a Blue-crowned conure dubbed Connor.
Bittner tells how the little blue head was one of the
founding "fathers" of the flock and, he guesses, could
be 14 or more years old. Whereas the majority of the
flock is made up with excitable, hot-tempered
Cherry-heads, Connor is cool and reserved, not given
to emotional outbreaks. You get to know the taciturn
bird and really see his reserved manner, especially
opposite the feisty majority. Be warned: the emotional
involvement you build up for this little guy is
palpable.

Judy Irving couples the story of Mark and his wild
parrots with bits of San Francisco color and
background, from an old recording of beat poet Jack
Kerouac singing "Ain't We Got Fun" to the hearing by
the city manager over the fate of the parrot flocks.
(They are thriving and can take very good care of
themselves, FYI.)

A documentary film that can affect you, emotionally,
and get you to invest your feelings in a flock of wild
birds (and their friend and keeper, Mark Bittner) is a
real accomplishment. "Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill"
is a satisfying docu that keeps your heart and mind
completely enthralled. I love San Francisco and now
have yet another reason to visit that hilly town. I
give this one an A-.

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X-RAMR-ID: 39442
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1364037
X-RT-TitleID: 1142310
X-RT-SourceID: 386
X-RT-AuthorID: 1488
X-RT-RatingText: A-