Apparently they passed a law recently saying you can't feed the parrots anymore. There's a video clip I saw which featured "Mark Bittner" himself, who supports the law.
Found the clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXzqoQQVcEI
After reading articles, I gotta say, it's probably the right decision. Can't be good for the birds to become so dependent on humans.
Search Youtube with: parrots telegraph hill for video clips of the people feeding the parrots.
Yes, I supported the law. In fact, I was the one who asked the city to create the ordinance. The vote in favor was 10-1. The ordinance was necessary because the situation in the park had become a big circus that was dangerous for the flock.
Much of the information currently available on the Internet is highly inaccurate. Because I didn't want to bring attention to the situation before a law was enacted (bringing even more feeders down to the park) I had to keep fairly quiet about what was going on. I often felt that the birds were hostages. I will soon be telling my side of the story out in the open. While it's true that there was concern about the birds becoming too dependent on humans, there was an even greater concern: that they were in danger of being captured by those interested in obtaining a free parrot or in selling them to others--something I could not bear. (Who can tell me that that is farfetched?) For those who will undoubtedly want to know: I stopped feeding the parrots last year.
The goal here is simply to get some insurance that the wild parrots are able to remain wild and free. The law only prohibits feeding the birds in public parks. It doesn't outlaw bird feeders or anything like that.
One other thing: Given that it doesn't really have anything to do with the movie itself, I would hate for this to become a major thread here. If you want to know more, I intend to have an essay posted on my web site before the month is out.
http://www.markbittner.net.
Thank you Mark for explaining the new law and reasoning behind it. I look forward to your essay.
Based on everything I read in your book, I can understand the concern about people trying to catch the parrots.
On a lighter note, Mark, you may be pleased to know that I recently became aware that there are some wild budgies flying with a parrot flock here in Los Angeles! A friend of mine photographed two of them flying with the flock and then later, I met a women from El Salvador who told me that last year, she rescued a baby budgie from a cat only to have its parents come to her window. Since the baby was injured, she chose to keep "him" inside and now he comes and goes as he pleases and answers to the name of Tony. I guess our milder weather down here permits their year-round presence outdoors. It could be Tony's parents were escaped pets who bred and not truly wild but they are still seen by her.
Thank you so much for your book and the film too. it's opened up a whole new local world for me and others. Thank you too for continuing to act in the best interests of your local flock.
Instances of breeding budgies outside of their home territory in Australia are extremely rare. The only place I've ever heard of it happening anywhere is in southern Florida. That would be an interesting development if true.
sharePerhaps she's mistaken and the baby was just a young pet that escaped. I met the baby "Tony" a little less than a year later and it does seem like a young bird . The two that came to the window were locals she had sen flying around but I guess assuming them were the parents is wishful thinking, huh?
I've seen the photos of Budgies flying wild in Los Angeles but the photos were taken in the summer. I'd like to think they are able to survive year round and even breed, but your comment does make it seem unlikely. I'll see if I can find out more. Language is a bit of a barrier, but my interest is piqued now!
I'm motivated now to see if I can find anyone like Mark in los Angheles who has taken an interest in the well-being of the flocks of wild non-native birds here. After seeing the site of the Parrot rescue for San Francisco it occurred to me that we likely have our own injured parrots in need of my time of money. If anyone knows of folks doing that work, feel free to PM me.
Seeds are junk food for parrots. Seeds should only consist of 10-15% of a parrots' diet. People think they are helping the birds by providing them seeds, but in fact, it is like feeding an overweight child Fritos all day.
I am not a doctor, just an educated parrot owner. I have not seen the documentary, but have seen the national news piece about the enacting of the no-feeding policy, which I was happy to see. We in Florida have these large green parrots flying everwhere.
I can't stand these non feed rules. These aren't even endangered native birds. I say allow people to interact with them all they want. It brings people closer to nature, it gets people outside, which is all good.
And, it's the CITY for gods sake, human/animal interaction is part of the natural order of things.. If the parrots become dependent on the humans then so be it.. not like the humans are going to one day all pack up and leave.