Over the last twelve months, by hard work and with some luck, I’ve had the good fortune to see all of the owl species one would expect to see in New York County (Manhattan). I saw all of them using my OMNY Card!

The Snowy Owl (late December), which a mob of crows found for me, ended up being all around the Upper New York Harbor for the winter, from around Liberty Island to a barge off Bay Ridge.

The Great Horned Owl (early January) was in Inwood Hill Park. The park often has owls in the winter.

Four Long-eared Owls were in Central Park in February of this year. Unfortunately, two disappeared after zealous photographers jumped park fences and flushed them.

The American Barn Owl was seen in Central Park during the summer. The owl had been seen for a few months, by those following the Coyotes every four weeks or so. Where it was roosting was never determined.

The Eastern Screech-Owl was an incredible surprise. I had heard it one night in Central Park, and saw it the next night. A week later I heard it again. The owl appeared when you would have expected it to in the fall, right after a frost upstate and a few days of strong northwesterly winds.

The Northern Saw-whet Owl as an incredible stroke of luck. After I saw the Eastern Screech-Owl, I found the Saw-whet. At first, in the dark, I thought it was the Screech. But once I took a photo, I realized I had a different species. It was an incredible night.

My last owl, the completed the set, was a Barred Owl in early November in Central Park.