The Barred Owl that was in the park on Friday, continued use the same roost on Saturday. It was spotted catching and eating a Brown Rat on Friday night. I’m very concerned about the quality of prey in the park. I counted at least 10 rodent bait boxes in the park. While these could have snare traps, they most likely contain rodenticides. If this owl stays in the park, it will only be a few weeks before it is poisoned.
In the northeast corner of Bryant Park, a Barred Owl roosted today. It certainly isn’t the safest place for an owl with lots of cars and people, but it certainly has lots of prey. But the park also has a lot of bait boxes. These can hold rodenticides or snare traps. If they have rodenticides, there might be a problem with the prey.
On a snowy day, made my first stop Riverside Drive and 86th Street to see the Peregrine Falcons who have been perching on the Normandy. They were both there, but also a wonderful American Kestrel who was camped out in from of two bushed with about 40 White-throated Sparrows and House Sparrows. The Peregrines came and left, and in the late afternoon both moved to West End Avenue.
I then went to Central Park, making a brief visit to the Reservoir and then to see the Great Horned Owl that has been in the park. It’s important to see and owl on SuperB Owl Sunday.
There has been a Great Horned Owl in Central Park for at least a week now. Tonight, I was able to follow it from its roost tree to the Compost Heap. It perched in a tree that the Snowy Owl often used last year. It then went down to the Conservatory Garden and returned to a tree a bit further northeast. I couldn’t be sure, but I think it had prey.
In the middle of the worst periods of COVID-19 pandemic, a Snowy Owl made an appearance in Central Park and stayed for over a month. Over that period of time, I got to watch the owl hunt, eat, play, and bathe. Like I have with Red-tailed Hawks, I observed as much as I could on those cold winter nights and came away with a new understanding of the species. I’ve edited down my daily videos to a 40 minute collection of the “best” examples of her behaviors. They show what we learned better than any description I could write.
It’s been a year since the Snowy Owl appeared in Central Park and stayed for about a month. What an incredible adventure we had watching her. To learn more about her, see my posts from last year.
