While he was waiting to make other plans, life happened to San Francisco resident Mark Bittner--in the form of cherry-headed conures inhabiting a scrap of semi-wild terrain in the middle of the city. The onetime musician befriended the 40-odd parrots, becoming what one bemused onlooker calls the St. Francis of Telegraph Hill. Documaker Judy Irving's portrait of the man and his feathered friends is an outstanding nature film as well as a tender meditation on the limits of ambition and the unexpected ways we find purpose and meaning in our lives.

Bittner came to North Beach to be a singer-songwriter but soon let go of Plan A. In order to find what Buddhism calls his "right livelihood," he did as little as possible, sustaining himself with odd jobs and rent-free living situations, including the street. While living in a century-old cottage on Telegraph Hill, he sought inspiration in the natural world outside his door, offering food to the green-and-red parrots and waiting patiently for their trust. Eventually they would eat from his hands, perch on his head and let him take them inside when they needed medical attention.

He became the species' rare observer. Birders had little interest because the San Francisco conures are non-native, descended from a handful of birds brought stateside as pets, who escaped or were abandoned. On the parrots' home turf in South America, scientists haven't gotten close enough to know individuals and their relationships the way Bittner does. He seems to identify most with Connor, the group's lone blue-crowned conure, for his outsider status and his longing for a mate. But even Bittner didn't understand--or wouldn't acknowledge--the depth of his connection to the birds until he nursed Tupelo, a dying parrot. His description of her final hours will resonate with anyone who's seen a loved one, human or animal, through their waning days.

In "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," Irving, a longtime filmmaker and lifelong birdwatcher, captures her subjects with striking intimacy. She shapes a well-told story, capped by a few dramatic turns of event. The last-scene surprise makes perfect sense, alluded to in nearly every frame that precedes it. Directed and produced by Judy Irving. A Shadow release. Documentary. Rated G. Running time: 83 min