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39 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, April 15, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 31, 2004 S.F.’s wild parrots featured in film Stories by BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune A birder friend told San Francisco filmmaker Judy Irving she had to make a movie about this guy who feeds wild parrots. Irving had produced "Heron Island," a film about the first great blue herons nesting in San Francisco in years. "I love birds," she says. She had heard of the parrot guy, Mark Bittner. He’d written a story she’d read in 1995 about feeding San Francisco’s wild parrots. But the story said he would soon be leaving the neighborhood, and she didn’t call. So it wasn’t until 1998 that Irving met Bittner and shooting began on "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," a project that would take nearly five years. The film premiered in Los Angeles in August and qualified for an Academy Award nomination, although it didn’t make the final cut. Advertisement "Real close, but no cigar," Irving says in a phone interview. The movie hasn’t played in San Francisco yet. Irving delayed the premiere there for the publication of Bittner’s book, "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill: A Love Story ... with Wings," which Random House has just released in bookstores everywhere. The film will be shown at the Ashland Independent Film Festival beginning Thursday, and Bittner and Irving plan to attend. Bittner also plans a reading Saturday in Ashland. The film traces the relationship of Bittner and a flock of parrots that live in north San Francisco. Bittner was a homeless musician who got a gig as caretaker of a home on the east side of Telegraph Hill that included a small apartment. There he became interested in the flock of parrots that hung out in the neighborhood. Parrots sometimes escape or are released by irresponsible pet owners. In some cities the birds have established flocks that roost together, nest and raise young (there is an Oregon flock near the Portland airport). The Telegraph Hill flock comprises birds known in the pet trade as cherry-headed conures (scientists call them red-masked parakeets) and a blue-crowned conure (or blue-crowned parakeet) Bittner called Connor. As the film unfolds, the parrots, leery at first, become more accustomed to Bittner, landing and walking on him and taking seeds from his hand. As he gets to know them he names them. Over time, as he seeks information and help from experts, Bittner becomes something of a parrot expert himself. Irving says the hardest thing in making the picture was getting shots of the parrots flying. "They’re nutso in the air," she says. Shots show them swooping around in close formation squawking noisily, flashes of green and red against the blue bay in the background. Close-ups of the birds were easy because of Bittner’s relationship with the flock, Irving says. But, "This is lots more than a bird movie," she adds. Bittner was searching for meaning in his life. At first he regarded the birds as a mere diversion. Scientists say parrots are among the most intelligent of animals. But they also say that anthropomorphism, the attributing of human characteristics to animals, is an error to be avoided at all costs. Bittner came to see the birds, and all life, differently. "I have a spiritual point of view," he says. "The basis of consciousness is one. It is a mystery, and all living creatures draw from that resource. "You can see in an animal’s eye its personality. You can see the parrots be curious or angry or get anxious just like us." Inevitably, there is heartbreak in the film. Near its end, when Connor has aged after living a difficult life, a friend provides a wrenching photo of his apparent death at the hands of a red-tailed hawk. Bittner releases Dogen, whom he nursed, into the wild, where she survives for about a year. Then she too dies. "People laugh and cry," Irving says. "They are always surprised at the themes." The picture even has a surprise ending. Bittner is moving to Oakland as the film nears its end. He lived there a year or so while writing the book and has since moved back to Telegraph Hill, right next door to his old home. When he offered to feed the flock for the first time in about two years, the old-timers didn’t hesitate. "They came right up to me," he says. "They still knew me. The babies stayed away at first." Irving is concluding a national distribution deal for the movie. The book is doing well in the Bay Area. "The word of mouth is good," Bittner says. "I’m getting e-mail from across the country." Bittner feels strongly that the pet trade in wild birds should be halted and that wild birds now in captivity should not be released. The flock has now increased to about 120 birds. Bittner is no longer as intimate with them as he was. He misses Connor, one of whose tail feathers he has. Combined with original music in the film written for the dying Connor by Bittner’s pal Chris Mickey, who was himself dying at the time, it’s a powerful reminder of a love story. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Film opens Thursday "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," a film by Judy Irving, opens at 9:40 p.m. Thursday in the Varsity Theatre in Ashland. It repeats at 6:40 p.m. Friday, 12:40 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Monday. Mark Bittner, the author of "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill: A Love Story ... with Wings," plans a reading at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Bloomsbury Books in Ashland. Irving and Bittner plan to attend the first three showings of the film and to answer questions. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times