Barn owl chicks take flight above Manhattan

Barn owls have raised chicks in a rooftop water tower on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, in what appears to be a first for the borough. Andrew Farnsworth, a migration ecologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, says no previous nest is known in modern records.

Birder David Barrett has observed five young owls at the tower and an adult carrying rodents back to the nest. The youngsters have begun test flights around the tower while their parents hunt, giving people gathered below a rare chance to watch this usually elusive species.

Barn owl sightings are very rare in New York City. The state sits near the northern edge of the species’ range, and state wildlife officials report a population decline over time. The family also faces a danger common to urban birds of prey: eating poisoned rodents. Jessica Wilson of NYC Bird Alliance warns that rat poison can also kill the predators that consume them.

Residents had heard puzzling screeches for weeks before the owls were identified. Now photographers, birdwatchers and curious neighbours gather after dark to see them. Local resident Elisabeth Williams, who helped bring attention to the family, said she and her husband were not birdwatchers before the owls arrived, but are now considering becoming birders.