Barn owl family nests in Manhattan for first time on record

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 16 Oct, 07:57 · Archive

A family of barn owls has nested in a water tower on Manhattan's Upper West Side, drawing nightly crowds of onlookers. Andrew Farnsworth, a migration ecologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said the discovery was 'totally shocking' and represents the first documented instance of barn owls nesting in Manhattan in recorded history.

David Barrett, a Manhattan-based birder who runs the popular social media account Manhattan Bird Alert, has observed at least one adult owl and five fledglings at the water tower, and has also seen an adult owl carrying rodents back to the nest. Some photographers have claimed to see six fledglings. Barrett noted that while a single barn owl sighting would be rare, a family breeding in Manhattan for the first time ever is 'special'.

The nest was discovered on a building on West 75th Street close to Central Park West. Elisabeth Williams, an Upper West Side resident, first notified a local news outlet on 6 October that she and her husband had spotted multiple owls at the water tower.

How it is being reported

• A rare family of barn owls moved into Manhattan's Upper West Side. New Yorkers are captivatedManhattan's Upper West Side has been reveling in the company of its latest celebrities: A family of barn owls nested in a water tower atop a building near Central Park.NPR · 16 Oct, 07:27
• Extremely rare barn owl sighting draws crowds to New York's Upper West SideA migration ecologist called the discovery of the barn owls’ nest ‘shocking’Independent World · 15 Oct, 20:12

In this story: Manhattan · Upper West Side · Central Park · Cornell Lab of Ornithology · Andrew Farnsworth · David Barrett · Elisabeth Williams

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