June 12, 2007
SFist Photo: The slightly more wild parrots of S.F.
Part of the flock of our famous red-masked parakeets flying above Telegraph Hill.
By now, we're sure that you've heard of the San Francisco Board of Supervisor's vote to ban feeding these very cute wild parrots in Ferry Park and everywhere else in the city. It was national news last week. What you might have missed over the weekend was Chronicle photographer Frederic Larson's short video that really shows what it's like see these animals in the Telegraph Hill area. We don't think the video ran in the printed version of the Chron (unless they've somehow perfected "video paper aka "e-paper" like they have in the Harry Potter movies - don't laugh kids, it's coming), so you'll just have to click here to see it. Polly want a Quicktime!
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They should ban feeding of these parrots. Mark Bittner was an idiot for taming them in the first place. Now they'll just come and sit on anyone's hand (and they bite). Makes me wonder how many people have a "wild parrot of telegraph hill" sitting in cages in their houses.
Wild animals are WILD. They're not here for our entertainment.
They're not native, either. Parrots are cute, but will they become as ubiquitous (and despised) as pigeons are?
If anything, the flock should be managed.
This is an outrage allowing them to fly over and annoy the residents of Telegraph Hill, pac heights etc, they are loud, obtrusive, un san franciscan, and based on a previous comment, dangerous. WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE???
No, don't get me wrong, there's no outrage. I love the parrots. They screech for hours outside my window every morning and I love it. I love watching them fly overhead.
I just don't think humans should be messing with them because we could hurt them/they could get stolen and caged. (They *should* bite people who bother them)I just don't think it's a good idea to tame wild animals for our own enjoyment.
San Francisco has had many different flocks of birds like this since the early part of the century... they've come and gone, died out and deformed for decades. And since they are "foreign invaders" just as much as pretty much every one reading this blog, I say leave 'em in peace.
(and as long as we're feeling didactic, the birds in this flock aren't parrots or parakeets... they are conures!)
i have an idea...
how about we ban feeding the homeless?
a much bigger problem than these beautiful birds!