Telegraph Hill is Going to the Birds

For those who don't know, the Parrots of Telegraph Hill are a bunch of parrots who one day showed up in Telegraph Hill and made themselves home in some of the trees there. They were taken care of by one of the locals, a documentary was made, and now they're semi-famous. Or as famous as a bunch of parrots can be.

What happened was that the person who owns those trees, John Cowen, wanted to cut the trees down because they were old and becoming a hazard to everyone, or more like mainly to himself because he was liable if something fell and either hit something or someone.

So in stepped Bevan Dufty, who sponsored some legislation this week saying Cowen was free and easy from any sort of legal claim aimed at him. The plan also calls for the city to hire a special arborist (now there's an idea for a TV Show-- "Dick Magnum, Texas Arborist") to come in and prune the trees so they can hold on for a few years when the trees that have already been planted will be ready. Money for all of this will come from the city, partly from the Northeast San Francisco Conservancy and Cowen is on the tab to upkeep the trees.