Mark Bittner (born November 29, 1951 in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

) is an American writer. He is the author of ''

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill ''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 lives rent-free in a cabin in the Telegraph Hill-neig ...

'', the book which accompanies the film ''

''. Bittner spent 14 years on the streets of San Francisco after his dream of becoming a professional musician fell apart. After many years of doing odd jobs while maintaining a ''

The Dharma Bums ''The Dharma Bums'' is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The basis for the novel's semi-fictional accounts are events occurring years after the events of ''On the Road''. The main characters are the narrator Ray Smith, based on ...

''-type lifestyle, he found a flock of naturalized parrots (mostly cherry-headed conures, also known as

red-masked parakeet The red-masked parakeet (''Psittacara erythrogenys'')DNA-sequence data require revision of the parrot genus Aratinga (Aves: Psittacidae) J.V. Remsen, Jr., Erin E. Schirtzinger, Anna Ferraroni, Luís Fábio Silveira & Timothy F. Wright is a medium ...

s) in the area of

Telegraph Hill A telegraph hill is a hill or other natural elevation that is chosen as part of an optical telegraph system. Telegraph Hill may also refer to: England * A high point in the Haldon Hills, Devon * Telegraph Hill, Dorset, a hill in the Dorset Down ...

. His book, ''The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill'', and the documentary of the same name, by

Judy Irving Judy Irving is an American filmmaker. She directed the documentary ''The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill'', about writer Mark Bittner's relationship with a flock of wild parrots. The film won the Genesis Award for "Outstanding Documentary Film" ...

, describe that encounter and the relationship he formed with the birds. In 2006, Judy married Mark Bittner after the two fell in love during the filming of ''Parrots''. Bittner later concluded that human feeding of the wild birds in parks (as opposed to backyard feeders) was a bad idea. He was among those who persuaded the

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco. Government and politics The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...

to pass an

ordinance Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * ...

prohibiting the practice. Bittner is a member of the South End Rowing Club.

References

External links

*
''THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL''
site for

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Ho ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Official page of Documentary Movie
*
An excerpt from "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill A Love Story ... with Wings," by Mark Bittner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bittner, Mark 1951 births Living people American memoirists Writers from Vancouver, Washington Writers from San Francisco