San Francisco Protects Wild Parrots' Habitat (May 29th at 9:00 p.m. when it airs on PBS' )

[Omaha Steve]

http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=7702944

San Francisco Protects Wild Parrots' Habitat
Board of Supervisors passes ordinance to preserve and replace vital cypress trees

Back in December 2005, IDA joined the effort to help save a grove of Monterey cypress trees in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood because they are a favorite perch of the world-famous wild parrots of Telegraph Hill. Readers of last week's eNews will recall that IDA recently started a second petition to support legislation proposed by Supervisor Bevan Dufty to preserve this habitat and ensure that the parrots will have a home on the Greenwich Steps for years to come.

Well over one year later, after a long campaign by many dedicated private citizens, city officials and the Northeast San Francisco Conservancy, we are proud to announce that yesterday the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted by a margin of 9 to 1 to pass the ordinance protecting the trees! Mark Bittner, the parrots' longtime caretaker who lives next to the cypresses, noted that "the parrots were sitting in those trees squawking at the very moment the legislation passed." Thank you to everyone who signed IDA's petition and asked their family and friends to do the same. More than 1,900 caring people from every corner of the globe showed their support for the parrots by signing on.



FULL story at link.

[KarenS]

1. We just watched the documentary last weekend.

What an wonderful story.

[Guaranteed]

27. Yup, that was great.

Very sad, though.

[blondie58]

2. thanks

thanks for posting this, Omaha Steve
I watched this movie last month and I was entranced by the sweet story.

[sarge43]

3. Just when we think there's no hope, we see good people

doing good things. Bless 'em all. :toast:

[lebkuchen]

4. Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

I bought the CD, and it's wonderful. I'm so happy to hear the news and hope Mark et al are doing well.

http://www.wildparrotsfilm.com/

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

5. what great news! a victory!!!!

:woohoo:

[mikelgb]

6. there is a flock of parrots in Orange County as well

I sometimes get to see them (and HEAR them) flying by

[shanti]

10. what part of OC?

???

[mikelgb]

21. Orange, Santa Ana, Fullerton

I live in Fullerton and have seen them as recently as November-December.

Here is a site with more info:

http://amazornia.us/

and an oc register article:

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1177755.php

[puerco-bellies]

29. Along with Orange Co. there are large flocks in West and East Los Angeles

I always get a kick when I see a flock out here. FYI parrots have been imported here from Southern Mexico, and Central American for a couple thousand years. You see petrographs through out New Mexico, and Arizona that date from at least the time of the early puebloians.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

7. Same species as my late little friend...

Mortimer. He was a parrot I rescued from a horribly abusive and neglectful situation. I gave him his last few years in happiness and with a lot of affection. He taught me about psitticines. It was a good trade.

I miss him still.

[Raine]

20. We had one too only

she was a Double Yellow Head named Phoebe. Phoebe died years ago but she has a big place in my heart. :loveya: They are really special to have has a member of the family.

[troubleinwinter]

8. I'm sitting in the room with one right now.

He says, "Where's the caaaat?" If I bring him the cat, he laughs his head off: "Hahahahaha!!!!! Aaaahahahaaaa!!". The cat is always mortified.

[mikelgb]

31. lol

[rinsd]

9. The parrots are beautiful but LOUD!

Sunrise and sunset are met with many, many sqwauks.

[troubleinwinter]

11. Mine is noisiest when I'm on the phone (!)

[rinsd]

12. I don't have one as a pet but there is a wild flock of them here in San Diego

And they happen to like the Ocean Beach area and the large palm tree outside of my apartment ;-)

[troubleinwinter]

14. I would think they'd love that area and climate

What surprises me is they survive the cold, foggy, drizzly San Francisco area. I guess they adapted, not having a choice. At least it doesn't freeze there.

I read that these kind of birds are noisy in the morning, because they are saying to the flock, "Hey, I made it through the night! Everybody else OK too?" In the evening, they mean, "Check in to let us know you made it through the day! And good night, John-Boy, Betty Ellen..."

Mine isn't noisy in mornings, but he sure sets up a racket in early evening when he's ready to call it a day.

[rinsd]

17. There is also an enormous parrot that is famous in OB

The first time I saw it I thought it was an eagle or condor it had such a large wingspan.

I don't know the type but the feathers are blue with a large beak.

[catchnrelease]

23. Sounds like

a Hyacinthe Macaw. They are the biggest of the parrots, a dark blue and a BIG scary beak.

[rinsd]

25. Definitely a Macaw but not quite the one you gave

I googled for images and the bird is not quite that blue, more like blue with the yellow underbelly.

[catchnrelease]

33. Then a Blue and Gold

is the other option. Brighter blue back, wings with a bright yellow belly. Not as big as a Hyacinthe altho' a beak that can put a serious chomp on you! :o

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. Are parrots indigenous to North America? n/t

Preserving their "habitat" as a cultural landmark is probably worthwhile. As a conservation project, not so much.

[troubleinwinter]

15. No. These are indiginous to Equador and Peru.

These are escaped pets, who have set up breeding populations. They really shouldn't be called "wild", but feral, as they are not native to this area.

They have become threatened in their native habitat, but are not threatened in general, as there are many breeders.

[NickB79]

16. Not anymore

There was the Carolina Parakeet, but that was wiped out by the turn of the century for it's decorative feathers.

[Slyder]

32. Lewis and Clark noted Carolina Parakeets

at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. Just a few miles north of there the last one was seen not long after the turn of the 20th century. Occasionally people claim to see one, but it is probably just wishful thinking or an escaped pet. They are likely deader than the ivory-billed woodpecker. Sigh...... Imagine, parrots native to Kansas!

[Recursion]

19. Not "indigenous" in the normal sense of the word

There are parrots living wild in North America, but they are escaped pet birds and their offspring. So they are a wild introduced species, like mustangs and razorbacks (which, ironically enough, are both animals that became emblematic of North America).

[piedmont]

26. Yes, they are indigenous to the continent of North America

But not to California. Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, etc. all have native parrots.

edit: spelling

[catchnrelease]

34. Thick Billed Parrots

used to travel from Mexico to the mountains of Arizona, but are no longer there. Were some efforts in the 1980's to reintroduce them into AZ, but the program failed.

[Recursion]

18. Lovely plumage

let's hope they won't run up the curtain and join the bleeding choir invisible.

[kskiska]

22. There are wild parrots in Brooklyn, too

Hard to believe they'd survive the cold weather. I heard they were nesting in transformers, and there was a movement by the power company to get rid of the birds, but I don't think it was implemented.





http://www.brooklynparrots.com/2005/09/photo-essay-wild-parrots-of-bay-ridge.html

[lebkuchen]

36. They should capture and move them.

[Oak2004]

37. Those are quaker parrots (aka monk parakeets)

and one of their brethren is cuddling up to me as I type. Quakers are cold hardy (they even have a layer of down feathers, as is obvious all over my home during my bird friend's molts) and are native to *southern* South America.

They are not the only cold-hardy parrots: the notorious kia of New Zealand's Southern Alps (the birds that dismantle automobiles for fun) are another example of a cold hardy parrot, though as far as I know kia are not kept as pets.

[mitchtv]

24. They seem to like the Canary Island dates on Dolores St.

way across town. Lotsa fruit trees in the Mission District backyards.

[MasonJar]

28. I heard about this story last week on NPR and I fell in love with it.

[Liberty Belle]

30. I've had 50 parrots in the ficus trees at my house, near San Diego.

Colorful but noisy - sounds like waking up in a tropical rainforest!

No one knows where these came from, perhaps released by bird smugglers near the border, so the theory goes.

[lebkuchen]

35. What color are they?

You ought to watch the video, "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill."

I lived in SF for several years, and on Telegraph Hill, w/o seeing a single parrot flying free. Why suddenly all these loose parrots?

In Australia there are all sorts of gorgeous birds flying around, indigenous. Cockatoo, red rosella, scads of birds that would encourage anyone to buy a very large bird feeder to entice them in.