The Plat Du Jour Saturday afternoon was squirrel. Pale Male caught it next just inside the park opposite the nest building. He went to about five different spots to eat it. While eating he called to his new mate, so he could share, but she never came to eat “seconds”.
The North Woods Eastern Screech-Owl continued her calling this evening. She ventured up to the Great Lawn to advertise her availability.
Before fly out she did some grooming, and there were a few frames of video that clearly showed she is banded.
While she is doing all of this calling, I certainly hope Dr. Robert DeCandido does not lead an “Owl Tour” and play his Screech-Owl tapes. She certainly doesn’t need to be confused by Birding Bob as she looks for a mate.
First, apologies for anthropomorphizing in my last post and saying the owl in the North Woods was lonely. She’s clearly just advertising her availability. Calling her lonely is just me projecting my concern that she won’t be able to find a mate.
Last night she called at least three hours. I gave up watching her at that point, as my feet were near frozen! She called constantly pausing between calls from 15 seconds to 3 minutes. She’s clearly making sure any nearby male will find her!
For those who don’t know the history of Eastern Screech-Owls in Central Park, they were reintroduced into the park about ten years ago. The program didn’t result in reestablishing a self sustaining population. Deaths due to car traffic may have tipped that balance against the owls, but there were other factors as well, poisons, geographic isolation, cavity contention with squirrels and other birds, etc.
So, Central Park now has an owl who has a low chance of finding a mate. Moving her would be politically difficult and introducing a mate would just perpetuate an unproductive situation even longer.
That said, I will miss watching owls raise their offspring in the park.
It was nice to see the Merlin on the water tower at 101st and Central Park west again. I think it has stayed all winter.
Tonight was bitter sweet. The park’s resident Screech-Owl was back in a spot she has used more frequently in the fall. She looked great and I was happy to see her in good health. (Screech-owls generally switch between a few cavities to roost, and I haven’t been able to find her alternative locations over the past few weeks.)
After fly out, she called almost immediately and continued to call for over an hour. When I left she was still calling. Now is the time she would normally be starting to brood, but without a mate she was just calling and calling.
I’m enjoying getting to know Pale Male’s new mate. On Friday and Saturday, I got to see a great deal of her and Pale Male.
On Friday evening she was on the antenna of a building at 79th and Fifth.
On Saturday, I got to see a great show. It began with Pale Male eating a Blue Jay. After he was done eating his new mate arrived and they went up to the nest building. One sat on the roof and one was in the nest. It happened quickly and I could not tell who was who.
Then they moved further uptown. After a brief perch on a building on Fifth Avenue, Pale Male when to sleep on a tree at the base of Cedar Hill. His mate went to a nearby tree and played cat and mouse with a squirrel, before joining Pale Male on the same branch.
It was great to see them roosting together. I think she’s the one.
