On Thursday morning, workers started to remove the water tank where the fledglings continued to roost by order of the building’s property manager. Before work could be halted by the NYS DEC, the tank roof was destroyed. (The building is being managed by the city, with the management company being appointed by the city, so this is an unusual situation.)

Staff members from the NYC Bird Alliance (our local Audubon chapter) responded quickly and spent the afternoon and evening observing the owls and communicating with the news media. Jessica Wilson, Executive Director, Andrew Mass, Director, Marketing and Communications, and Olivia Liang, Senior Associate, Marketing and Communications did a wonderful job coordinating with the press and city and state agencies.

When this nest was discovered, I wrote that anyone who loved owls must become a member of the NYC Bird Alliance. This event highlights the importance of supporting the organization. If you aren’t already a member, please join them.

The owls had fledged three weeks ago, so the birds were able to roost out in the open on buildings nearby during the day. They were all accounted for last night, with all five fledglings being seen together on a skylight near the nest. The loss of the roosting location will be stressful for these fledglings. They will need to quickly learn to find secluded roosting locations to avoid being mobbed by songbirds and avoid possible predation by raptors.

Social media posts about the owls have offered many suggestions about what to do next for these owls. I would suggest that laymen let conservationists decide what is best in the short term for this specific nest and also determine what should be done long term, if anything for American Barn Owls in Manhattan.

There are many options about what to do about the irresponsible act by the building’s property agent. Options include doing nothing, rebuilding the tank’s roof or putting up a nest box. Each has its pros and cons, and I’m happy to leave it up to the experts at the NYC Bird Alliance and the NYS DEC to decide how to proceed.

While this nest has been a wonderful experience for the city, given the risks these owls face in the city, putting up lots of nest boxes in the area might not be a wise investment of resources. I was disheartened to read a social media comment from the person who aided with the failed reintroduction of Eastern Screech Owls in Central Park suggest putting up Barn Owl nest boxes on the Upper West Side and Central Park. Haven’t we learned from our previous failed efforts? Shouldn’t we reduce or eliminate rodenticides in our spaces before we encourage owls to breed here?

I had paused posting photographs and videos of this nest almost two weeks ago, because I was concerned about the hype the nest was getting and the impact hoards of individuals might have once the owls began exploring Central Park. But I think now is a good time to share a few weeks of videos, so everyone can understand how special this nest is and how these owls need to be protected.

Sunday night was a quiet night. I only saw three fledglings. As the youngsters get older, they are exploring more and more.

On Monday night, I was able to catch a food delivery.

On Tuesday night, it became apparent that most of activity around the skylight and water tank has shifted to later in the evening. Usually between 10pm and Midnight.

Wednesday night had some nice activity and one of the owlets playing peak-a-boo from inside the tank.

I only had a brief glimpse of the owls on Thursday. I only saw two. It was too windy to get decent photographs, so I didn’t spend much time at the nest.

Friday night had a feeding and four owlets lined up briefly at the entrance to the water tank.

Saturday night had a feeding and all five owlets were being very active on the water tank roof.

On Sunday night, there was a food delivery of a nice sized Brown Rat.

Monday night had two feedings. The first one had a parent dangle a rat in front of the nest’s entrance, something I hadn’t seen before.

One Tuesday, I was able to capture a feeding and some explorations of perches away from the water tank.

Wednesday night had all five of the fledglings being active on a skylight and the water tank. A parent called for about five minutes, as well.

On Thursday night, I was able to watch the owl on the water tank and nearby perches. It was the first time seeing them since the water tank was partially dismantled.

Before I arrived a photographer was able to see all five fledglings at once on a skylight. This is encouraging news.