The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is a 2003 documentary film directed, produced, and edited by Judy Irving. It chronicles the relationship between Mark Bittner, an unemployed musician who is living rent-free in a cabin in Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, California, and a flock of feral parrots (cherry-headed and two blue-crowned conures) that he feeds and interacts with. Bittner also wrote a book by the same name on the subject. In May 2007, the documentary aired on the PBS series Independent Lens.
Much of the documentary focuses on the individual parrots, and their relationships with one another. Bittner notes that there is humor in the piece, which he believes makes it different from many other nature documentaries. Raising funding for the film was difficult at first, as Irving had to find individual donors. The proceeds from a fundraiser, in which Bittner gave a presentation to a packed theater, allowed Irving to start shooting the film in earnest.
The musical score was created by Chris Michie, a Bay area musician, formerly the guitarist for Van Morrison. It was his final project before he died from melanoma. The film, which he did not live to see released, is dedicated to him.
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“Some spring the white man came, built him a house, and made a clearing here, letting in the sun, dried up a farm, piled up the old gray stones in fences, cut down the pines around his dwelling, planted orchard seeds brought from the old country, and persuaded the civil apple-tree to blossom next to the wild pine and the juniper, shedding its perfume in the wilderness. Their old stocks still remain.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“And the chandeliers are neat . . .
But their mignon, marblish glare!
We are cold, the parrots cried,
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—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 5:14.