Urban Hawks

In addition to the “regularly” seen Barred Owl in Central Park, today there was a second owl. It has the same black mark on its beak, that the owl that has been in Riverside Park and I was studying in early December. So, this second owl is most likely the one that had been in Riverside Park.

This owl started the day in a White Pine, was harassed by Blue Jays, and then ended up after a few stops in a Holly Tree a few blocks north.

At fly out, the owl after a small hop to another branch of the Holly Tree, flew about 50 feet, did a little preening for about ten minutes and then flew out of sight.

I went back home via the Ramble, hoping to find the “regularly” seen owl, without any luck, but did find a Red-tailed Hawk perched presumably where it would be roosting for the evening.

The Barred Owl was out on an open branch in the Hemlock tree it has been roosting in, enjoying the sunlight for most of the afternoon. For many Central Park bird watchers it was a treat, as the owl has usually been tucked deeply in the tree and hard to watch. However, a Cooper’s Hawk forced the Owl to find a safer branch for the late afternoon. Fly Out was fairly normal with a visit to a branch near the roost, and then another a bit to the north. The owl ended up being scolded by a Northern Cardinal, and the owl made a half-hearted attempt to go after it. It then made a long flight and after one perch, made another and we lost track of the where the owl went.

Tonight, we saw the Central Park Barred Owl catch a rodent, drop the rodent, retrieve the rodent and I’m not sure why drop it again. After this the owl stayed in the same area and continued to hunt before going after another rodent before flying out of sight.

On Sunday, the Central Park Barred Owl was out in the open in a tree near where the usual Hemlock Tree roost is. Given the skirmishes between the owl, a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk and a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk during the last few weeks, I wonder if the owl had been forced to move earlier in the day.

The owl made one small hop from where it was roosting, and coughed up a pellet before flying out. Owls have limited peripheral vision, so much of what it follows is based on sound. Tonight it fascinating to watch it track its environment based on sound, then sight.

On Saturday, the Central Park Barred Owl chased away a Cooper’s Hawk at fly out, but then settled down and slowly explored the areas near the roost site and perched for the longest time at the shoreline of a small pond.

The Barred Owl was back in its regular roost perch on Monday. It usually just takes a few steps west before fly out, but tonight it took a few east, then a few west. It had its eye on something, and it may have been a Eastern Cottontail Rabbit.

The rabbit was first in Shakespeare Garden, then seen in the Tupelo Meadow and now is much further east. It is good to see it has survived since March.

Luckily the owl. while fascinated with the rabbit, just watched it and then flew away. It made its way to the same snag where it perched on Saturday. It again picked at the remains of a bird. I wonder if it is caching food in the snag.

The owl went south and let us watch it on two different perches before making a long flight out of view.