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Boletin Audubon
May 2008
Newsletter Archives
The Newsletter of Sociedad Audubon de México, A.C.
May Events
SECRETS OF EL CHARCO ILLUMINATED IN AUDUBON
TALK
Calling All Birders!
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SECRETS OF EL CHARCO ILLUMINATED IN AUDUBON TALK
Birds of Red and Blue Feathers
The much-loved film "Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" will be shown at Audubon of Mexico's May presentation, the first in a series to be held at Teatro Santa Ana in the Biblioteca Publica. The film, an award-winning documentary about parrots and people in San Francisco, will be shown on Tuesday, May 20 at 3 pm.
The wild parrots in the film were brought in from South America
as pets (that was legal befoe 1993), but they were not suited to
captivity and they escaped, to live on their own in the city.
They are discovered by a homeless street musician, Mark Bittner,
on the fire escape of a house he is caretaking. Bittner wrote a
memoir (subtitled "a love story... with wings"), about
his experiences with the birds, which was turned into the
documentary we will see on May 20th. |
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Photo by: Wayne Colony
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Photo by: Wayne Colony |
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The film celebrates urban wildness, human and avian, and links
the parrots' antics to human behavior. The publicity about the
film says it's about a Bohemian St. Francis who found meaning in
his life when the parrots found him. Bittner himself says,
"It was like watching the three stooges only much
funnier," of his time spent getting to know the parrots,
watching their daily life. |
Although he is no scientist and this is not a
"nature film," science and nature are very much a part of the
documentary. Mark becomes something of a parrot expert as he consults
local birders, and as he feeds, names, studies, and protects the mainly
cherry-headed conures and one blue-crowned conure, living on their own
in the big city. San Franciscans come from all over to see Bittner
interact with the birds, who perch on his shoulders, his chest and his
head as he feeds them.
Bittner lived with the birds for six years, feeding them up to
five times a day, but when he left they went right on breeding
and living the good life, apparently quite able to fend for
themselves.
Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is, as are all Audubon
presentations, free to Audubon members, 50 pesos to others. |
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Photo by: Wayne Colony
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Calling All Birders!
Are you fascinated by our fine feathered friends? Have you ransacked bookstores for bird books, stopped people wearing binoculars in the jardin to find out what they just saw, worn out hiking boots on the birding trail? Have you pored over field guides, leapt out of bed at dawn to follow Fen Taylor on the trail, felt the thrill of a new sighting for your life list? Any or all of these might qualify you to lead an Audubon bird walk. And since Fen Taylor retired from her leadership of Audubon's regular monthly walk, we're desperate to find a replacement. Please let us know (at
info@audubonmex.org) if you'd like to lead a bird walk some Sunday soon. The birding community of San Miguel needs you!
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AT LAST! A BIRD BOOK WILL SOON TAKE FLIGHT
As a bird watcher, an environmentalist or just an appreciator of nature, you wouldn’t be the first person to wish there were a field guide to the birds of San Miguel—and to be disappointed when you found it didn’t exist. Your time is coming! Audubon is at work right now on a field guide to our abundant,
beautiful local birds. The guide will follow the style of
Flores Silvestres de San Miguel de Allende, the wonderfully successful and useful field guide to our local wildflowers that appeared in 2006—sized to fit in a pocket, with full-color pictures and brief descriptions of each bird (and a ruler on the back). We’re hoping to have it available some time this year.
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