[quashlo]

The Presidio
2013.08.10

Next, the famous parrots of Telegraph Hill, although you can now hear their squawks and see them flying in many neighborhoods across the City, not just Telegraph Hill. They first became famous after a 2003 documentary.

I spotted a small flock of them as they snacked on hawthorn berries up near Simonds Loop in The Presidio. In fact, I almost missed them if not for the unusual “popping” sound as they snapped the berries off the trees. There’s also some wild blackberries growing here (and in many other parts of The Presidio) which some local residents occasionally pick, but the parrots didn’t seem too interested in them on this day. Most of the birds are red-masked parakeets (Psittacara erythrogenys), originally native to South America and one of the more popular species in the bird trade.