I wrote in my personal story about how I gradually became so attached to animals and their cause, that aside from personal exposure to God's creatures, I was motivated by other glimpses of animal personality and the human-animal connection which I saw on screen in animal films and video clips.  And,  without a doubt, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill left one of the most lasting impressions on me.

Following is a short review I wrote not long after I saw the moving documentary for the first time, about a year before I decided to give not one sparrow a go.  But, more than anything, I hope you can catch the film yourself (trailer below).  My sincere hunch is you'll be glad you did ...

When I was a kid I was fascinated by anything animal, a fascination which I neglected for the most part until a number of cats which have been brought into our home in recent years awoke a very personal appreciation for the personalities and anthropomorphisms of "little beasts," as my grandpa would have called them.

That fascination was fully engaged by the documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (Docurama '04), depicting a seemingly eccentric but in reality very human recluse Mark Bittner, who regularly feeds and cares for a flock of wild red-headed parrots in San Fransisco, many of whom he interacts with as individual characters, such as the loner and sole blue-topped Connor, the manic Mingus and lovebirds Sophie and Picasso.

It is a captivating film, and a true model of concern for the smaller of God's creatures in a human world, and I found myself becoming very attached to the birds as I watched.  Some of the goodbyes which take place towards the end as Mark has to move on from his Telegraph Hill residence brought a tear to the eye.  The extras on the dvd are also well worth watching, and provide very relevant follow-up.