The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is a 2005 documentary film about a population of feral parrots- cherry-headed and blue-crowned conures - in San Francisco, and about Mark Bittner, the man who takes care of them. The movie was directed, produced, and edited by Judy Irving. The film is based on a book of the same name, written by Bittner (ISBN 0-609-61055-4). In May 2007 the documentary aired on the award winning PBS series Independent Lens.
In San Francisco, there are at least two flocks of largely wild parrots who flock around the city. This film focuses on the flock of cherry-headed conures (and a lonely blue-headed one named Connor) who flock around the Telegraph Hill region of the city and their closest human companion, Mark Bittner . Through his own words, we learn of his life as a frustrated, homeless musician and how he came to live in the area where he decided to explore the nature around him. That lead him to discovering the parrot flock and the individual personalities of it. In a cinematic portrait, we are introduced to his colorful companions and the relationship they share as well as the realities of urban wild life that would change Bittner's life forever. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
