Owls

Great Horned Owl

Over the last ten days, there have been three Great Horned Owl sightings in Central Park, including one today.  Beth Bergman has photographs of the two previous sightings, Friday the 6th and Wednesday the 11th on her blog.

It’s generally rare for the park to have a Great Horned Owl, so it was very interesting when those who had seen the Great Horned Owl on previous days, thought today’s owl might be a different bird than that seen earlier!  It’s quite possible since we’re in a peak migration period for owls.

Looking at Beth’s photographs however, I could lean either way. Is it just one bird or more than one?

091115GHO01
091115GHO02
091115GHO03
091115GHO04
091115GHO05
091115GHO06
091115GHO07
091115GHO08
Other Red-tailed Hawks

Youngster in the Ramble

I went out in a break in the rain on Saturday to see if their was any sign of the Great-Horned Owl that had been spotted on two separate days in Central Park over the last week.  I didn’t find the owl, but did find this 1st year Red-tailed Hawk.  It was right next to a cove on the Lake called the Oven.

Pictures include the bird eating a squirrel.  If that doesn’t interest you skip this post.

091114CPRT01
091114CPRT03
091114CPRT04
091114CPRT05
091114CPRT06
091114CPRT07
091114CPRT08
091114CPRT09
Other Birds

What Is This?

I can’t figure out what species of bird this is.  It was on the south shore of Turtle Pond.  Is it just a strangely marked Rock Pigeon? If you know, please leave a comment.

I wasn’t able to get close to this bird, so I’m sorry if the photographs and movies aren’t that clear.

After two days, it’s clear it’s a Rock Pigeon.  The behavior confused me, but the white cere should have been the giveaway.

09110701
09110702
09110703
09110704
09110705
09110706