Wild parrots of San Francisco
I recently discovered Mark Bittner’s wonderful book ‘The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill’, which was published in 2004 and went on to be a New York Times bestseller. I gather there has also been a movie made about him and his life with the wild parrots of San Francisco.
Mark chose ‘a dharma bum’ lifestyle for himself which eventually led to him more or less housesitting up on the city’s Telegraph Hill, where he first started noticing a flock of wild cherry headed parakeets or conures. He started asking questions about their origins and worked out they must have come from South America as part of a cruel bird smuggling trade. Some had obviously managed to escpae from pet owners unable to handle them.
It’s fascinating reading about how these parrots have adapted to city life in a new climate and landscape. Also, incredible how close Mark was able to get to these birds and how trusting they became towards him, just because of the time and care he took with them.
All in all, it’s one of those ‘great escape’ reads that really transports you to another place and way of life. I highly recommend it!
