Urban Hawks

The owl was in its regular roost spot in the Hemlock Tree when I arrived this afternoon. So, I birded around the Evodia Field and Shakespeare Garden before returning to the owl roost.

The wind gusts had been so strong, the owl had been forced to a branch just off the main trunk of the tree to keep from being flung around! It worked out nicely for the owl watchers as the bird was much easier to see in this location.

Unfortunately, folks had jumped the fences and walked near where the owl normally makes a first stop, so tonight the owl made a long first hop to a tree. These same folks, then flushed the bird and it flew to a low branch.

Luckily, at this point most observers left and a few respectful birders got to observe the owl. I was able to stay with it for about forty minutes.

It made a small journey to another branch and patiently watched for rodents. It also coughed up a pellet. It must have been in the same tree for at least 20 minutes. It hunted but most likely missed and ended up on a branch a few feet off the ground. After about 5 minutes, it pounced hard on the ground. It was too dark at this point to see if it caught anything, but given the small squeak I heard, I assume it did. After a few minutes the owl then went west towards water.

Tonight, the Barred Owl in Central Park quickly left the roost and after one brief stop flew out of sight and could not be relocated.

But before it flew out, it responded to cries from a Cooper’s Hawk, with three wonderful calls, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?”

After weeks of watching the Barred Owl in Central Park, I’m finally seeing patterns of behavior.

Before fly out, the owl takes a few steps west on its roost perch, so it has room to stretch. It does at least two cycles of one wing down, both wings back, and the other wing down. It might cough up a pellet before fly out too, as it did tonight. It then takes one more step, defecates and then flies out.

The post fly outs seem to fall into three categories, patrolling for intruders (Cooper’s Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks or other Barred Owls), hunting near the roost site based on what it observed during the day, and long treks near the water.

Tonight it was a long trek, with a short stop near the roost site, and then a stop about 100 yards west, with an interaction with a noisy Cooper’s Hawk. The exchange only lasted a few minutes and the owl then relaxed before working the shoreline of a waterway in the park for about 400 yards, perching only a few feet off the ground in about four stops, except for a high branch in an attempt to get a squirrel.

The Central Park Owl that has a mark on its beak and that had been seen for a few month in Riverside Park, was in a Hemlock Tree today. (The owl that as been in the park longer, was also in a Hemlock Tree today.)

The owl that came from Riverside Park, was in a very visible location with lots of onlookers today.

As we’ve seen on other evenings, this owl can be in no rush to leave the roost area. It stayed near the roost and went to the ground to hunt. It didn’t like it caught anything but it was a solid attempt. The owl went back to a perch it had flown out to, and then went to a far tree before flying out of sight.

While the Barred Owl that came from Riverside Park, was found late in the day near where it had been roosting, I decided to visit the owl I have been following more often tonight.

It flew out and quickly made its way west stopping by some running water and then going far west and high in a tree, which I suspect might have a view of the other Barred Owl. It called a few times before going east towards one of the roost spots of the Riverside Barred Owl, before we lost track of it.

The Central Park Barred Owls that had been in Riverside Park, was back in the tree it was on Wednesday today. It flew out normally and then kept it’s eye on a squirrel for the about twenty minutes after fly out. The squirrel ended up being safe and the owl then flew out further for the night.

It was a fun night, as we got to watch the owl for an extended period of time.