Currently, due to publicity started by the West Side Rag, and escalated by social media influencers and major publications, the American Barn Owl nest on the Upper West Side has become the next big thing.

Since the nest’s location has been discovered, there has been a mix of birders, photographers and the public visiting the nest site. Fortunately, unless one goes on a roof, observing the nest requires staying so far away that the impact of the public watching the owls has so far been minimal. 

It has been great to help share the discovery with the neighborhood, who had wondered what all the noise was about.  But soon, the fledglings will need to enter Central Park at night to learn to hunt and might eventually roost there during the day. Once this happens, these owls will need to be left alone so they can learn to be independent from their parents and eventually “leave home”. This will require an internet blackout, where there daily locations and activities aren’t reported in real time.  Crowds coming to see a roosting juvenile owl, or folks following an owl with flashlights around the park will be detrimental.

So, I will no longer be posting daily reports online.  It’s time for me to shift gears and begin the process of giving these owls the space they will soon need.  I hope others will also begin to wind down the hype, pledge not to report their locations online and work to minimize the impact of birders and photographers once they are in the park.

Once the young owls have all dispersed, I’m sure I’ll have some stories to tell. But for now, it makes sense for me to stop my daily reporting of this amazing discovery, American Barn Owls nesting in Manhattan.