Urban Hawks

I saw three owls in Central Park today.

My first was a Northern Saw-when Owl.  It was tucked into a pine tree and was asleep and relaxed except for two occasions.  Once when a truck went by and once when a Yellow-belled Sapsucker found the owl.  After the Sapsucker left, it didn’t seem to be falling asleep, so just in case I had become the problem, I left.

My second owl was a Great Horned Owl.  It was much lower down in a tree it had been using regularly.  I could figure out how to photograph it without being right under the bird, so I choose to walk away.

My third owl was a Barred Owl.  This owl was high in a tree that a Barred Owl had used over two months ago.  I wonder if it is the same owl?  It rested most of the time, but at least three times was attacked by Blue Jays and Tufted Titmice.

Tonight, I had the good fortune to do some quiet, respectful birding by watching a Great Horned Owl wake up, preen, fly out and spend 20 minutes with the owl after fly out.

I was able to do this despite of Bob DeCandido and his group.  He used a flashlight on the owl while it was roosting, played owl calls and used a flashlight all across the rocks of Belvedere Castle to look for the owl.  When his group arrived at the Turtle Pond Duck Blind just as I was leaving, he made a number of jokes about playing calls from all three species of owls endlessly. At least he reads my blog! Bob’s little more than a middle school bully. While his bullying doesn’t bother me, I do feel concerned for the birds he taunts.

My realization at the end of the night was that despite all of his heavy handed use of flashlights and audio playback, my evening was full of great, natural observations of an owl and I doubt his group saw little more than the back of an owl’s head.

Ethical birding wins every time. I highly recommend asking any bird trip leader if they subscribe to the American Birding Association Code of Ethics and decline to take a tour with them if they don’t. I still can’t believe that anyone pays Bob money to show them an owl, when you can do it for free and have a much more pleasurable experience.

This morning, two mobs of crows converged on a Great Horned Owl, leading anyone birding in the area straight to the owl.  The owl took the invasion of crows in stride, elongating for only a few minutes before relaxing.  The crows brought with them a Cooper’s Hawk who I’ve seen go after the crows on other days.  May the bounty of owls continue into 2019. 

(The two Northern Saw-Whet Owls that were horribly over birded on Sunday, were not found today.  Tweeting an owl’s exact location, when someone can literally reach up and touch it to thousands of people, isn’t the best idea.  While most of us have common sense, there are those who don’t.)

On Sunday, the Great Horned Owl choose a roost far from everyone in the middle of a construction site.  From way across a pond I could get a few photographs.  While the owl was not bothered by people, a mob of crows did find the owl.  Luckily for the owl, they only stayed for a few minutes.

On Saturday, the Great Horned Owl that has been difficult to view for the last week, choose a nice low branch to roost in.  It afforded folks a nice view and a chain link fence keep people at a distance.  It also had some of the best light we’ve seen this owl in.  I stayed for the fly out, but wasn’t able to track the owl afterwards.