Urban Hawks

On my birthday, December 30th, an American Barn Owl was discovered in Central Park. It was a great birthday present. It was roosting in a pine tree and sadly got flushed by onlookers who had rushed to see it after a twitter alert, jumped a fence and got right under it. It was sad to see the lack of owl watching etiquette.

Luckily it went to a tree on a nearby island and sat calmly for two and a half hours from about 5 pm to 7:30 pm and could be watched respectfully from a distance. However, for some reason a few photographers insisted in pushing and shoving. Bird watching isn’t a rugby scrum. What really bothered me was that I had helped folks to find the owl in the low light, set up my scope and offered views, and then set up my camera and let folks look at my camera’s screen. I really don’t understand why anyone felt the need to push me!

For some reason folks get irrational around owls. The same thing happened today. The park’s visiting Northern Saw-whet Owl was impossible to photograph today, due to today’s perch, but folks insisted on spending hours under it. There is no reason to risk bothering a sleeping bird. On a day like today, go birding elsewhere and return for the fly out if you’re interested in seeing the owl awake.

The American Barn Owl hasn’t been relocated for 48 hours, so I think it’s safe to post pictures.

The established Central Park Great Horned Owl has found a great tree to hide in. I couldn’t find in the tree during the day but saw it fly out at 5:00 pm.

Today, I was able to find it in the afternoon, and at fly out. She even gave use a few hoots before flying off into the night.

As the leaves drop in the fall, especially after the first frost, our Great Horned Owls end up looking for new trees to roost in during the day. Both Great Horned Owls that have been in the park have been moving around. This one was nicely hidden and in an area that is locked for the winter today. It was in the same roost on Christmas Day. It’s a great place to avoid being bothered by all of the winter visitors to the park during the holidays!

The more recently arrived Great Horned Owl of Central Park, gave bird watchers great view today. It was in a location it had used a few days ago, which proves an unobstructed view of the bird. Those of us crazy enough to watch this owl in the bitterly cold weather had a great time.

While we were watching the owl, an Adult Bald Eagle flew overhead. If the reservoir freezes, we might get to see it land on the ice over the next few days.

Central Park has had a Northern Saw-whet Owl roosting only about ten feet off the ground in a tree, with the exception of one day since Sunday. It has attracted large crowds and has been a sensation on social media. I have avoided the owl for the most part. On Thursday, I got up early to see if I could see it at sunrise, but it had choose a different roost and could not be found.

Today, I went to see if I could get photographs of the owl covered in snow. While I did get some wonderful pictures, it didn’t not get off the owl covered in snow given the gale force winds! I almost got blown over twice, but the little owl hung on tight and was fine.

There were only a few folks watching the owl while I was there. The observers kept their distance, were quiet and enjoyed great looks at the Saw-whet. It was nice to see everyone being so respectful. None of us had to worry about waking the owl up however, as it was wide awake dealing with the wind!

On Tuesday, the newly arrived Central Park Great Horned Owl was easy to watch in great light. It was nice to watch the fly out, but we quickly lost track of the owl as it went north.