The Great Horned Owl continues to be seen in Central Park. It would be great if it stayed around for the Christmas Bird Count. Tonight it few to a nearby tree and we watched it for about five minutes before it flew briefly to another tree and then out of sight.
After all of the owl, gull and bunting photos, I thought I should post a hawk entry. This afternoon, Pale Male has a favorite set of perches on a building at 73rd and Fifth. One the second floor from the top are six windows across. Each window has an ornamental railing, perfect for a hawk. Tonight Pale Male was perched on the second window from the left.
I made another attempt to see the Painted Bunting in Prospect Park today and had much better views than this weekend. What a fantastic bird.
Prospect Park in Brooklyn had two birds that I had never seen before, a Painted Bunting and a Black-headed Gull. The Painted Bunting has been in the park for a week and has become a celebrity. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to photograph. I only got some poor back photographs, that didn’t capture the wonderful bright colors of the bird. Luckily, I did better with the Black-headed Gull. It was very cooperative!
Central Park was delightful this afternoon. After visiting the reservoir to see the Ring Necked Duck that’s been hanging around the southeast corner, I found a Peregrine Falcon perched on the south tower of The Eldorado.
Soon after, I found a Red-tailed Hawk in the Pinetum, who was joined by a second hawk. They circled over Seneca Village before moving out of sight.
My last bird of the day was the Great Horned Owl that has now been in the park for three weeks.
At the risk of being repetitive, here are some more photographs of Central Park’s Great Horned Owl. I’m off to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving, so you’ll have a break from owl photos for a week! Tonight the owl explored the tree it was roosting in, by jumping/flying to three additional perches before flying out for the evening.
