Mark Bittner, Writer and Musician Known for 'The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill,' Dies at 74

"There was another thing I noticed about Mark right away. He has a lot of time. No money but all the time in the world. How does he get away with that? When she met Bittner, those birds were his only friends, and it was deep. Irving's meditative, intimate film took over four years to make, whittled down from 36 hours of footage, and came out in theaters starting in 2005."

"Mark Bittner was 46 years old when filmmaker Judy Irving began filming him and his love of San Francisco's wild parrot flock in 1998. He had already spent years at that point cultivating a relationship with the 45 or so birds that spent their afternoons in the trees around Telegraph Hill. Preternaturally jobless but not homeless, he had managed to live rent-free in a sparsely decorated cottage off the Greenwich Steps for about 25 years."

"Irving's meditative, intimate film took over four years to make, whittled down from 36 hours of footage, and came out in theaters starting in 2005. It became something of a hit among documentaries, grossing $3 million, and becoming the highest rated program on public television in 2007. Bittner wrote a memoir of the same name, and reportedly has a second memoir titled Street Song, about his years as a guitar busker on the streets of SF."

Mark Bittner gained recognition as a local figure in San Francisco through his deep connection with the city's wild parrot flock. Living rent-free in a cottage near Telegraph Hill for approximately 25 years, Bittner devoted himself to studying and naming the approximately 45 parrots that inhabited the area. Filmmaker Judy Irving documented his life and relationship with the birds, creating a meditative documentary that took over four years to produce from 36 hours of footage. The film premiered in 2005, became a significant documentary success grossing $3 million, and ranked as the highest-rated public television program in 2007. Irving and Bittner became partners, living together on Telegraph Hill starting in 2001. Bittner authored a memoir about his experiences and reportedly completed another about his years as a street musician.

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