Last night, I ran across Marilyn Pon's letter posted in the San
Francisco Chronicle giving an update on Winnie the Parrot. In the
letter, she refers to her two earlier articles on the friendship she
established with this wild yellow-headed
green Amazon parrot. I was so captivated with her letter that I went
into the archives to read the two articles. If you have some time
available during these lazy days of summer, this is a wonderful, heartwarming read about how patience
and great observation skills can build a solid bond between bird and
woman. Here are Marilyn's entries in chronological order with a short commentary for each article.
July 9, 2005 - A fussy bird moves in
Marilyn writes this article as The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is becoming "the fourth highest-grossing theatrical documentary about animals." She's aware of a pair of parrots that have been in her neighborhood for twenty years. Several years prior, one of the parrots goes missing, and "Wilson" shows up at her window sill one day to enjoy the sunflower seeds that have been put out for the neighborhood birds. Marilyn starts engaging with Wilson and little by little, they start learning about each other. My favorite part is her astute observation on Wilson's very distinct likes and dislikes of the fabric material and patterns on the clothes she wears.
October 28, 2006 - Winnie the parrot's new name fits the bill
It's now clear that Wilson is Winnie, and Marilyn writes of their deepening friendship. I'm fascinated with the story of Winnie meeting Katy, Marilyn's cat who is described as, "a formerly feral Burmese mix." I love both birds and cats, but have not been successful in having them live peaceably together in my home. The bird always loses by becoming a cat snack. So I'm heartened to see that there is a place where the circle of life isn't so brutal.
June 25, 2008 - An update on Winnie the parrot
In this letter, Marilyn muses about the future, knowing Winnie is getting older, and hoping she will decide to move in with her full time. This would mean Winnie would have to abandon her daily routine of perching by the local BART station during the morning commute and hanging out at the top of the palm tree a block away from Marilyn's house. Whatever happens, Marilyn knows the magical bond she now has with Winnie and sees it as a dream come true.
