The newest celebrity family couple or a pop star — it's a family of barn owls that moved into a water tower on the Upper West Side. Experts say these owls are the first in modern history known to have nested in Manhattan, and their arrival has turned a quiet neighborhood into a nighttime gathering spot for birders. For a species in steep decline across New York, the nest is a small miracle — and a reminder of the dangers waiting for them in the big city.
How Scotty the Barn Owl Was Discovered
It started with screeches. Back in September, Upper West Side resident Elisabeth Williams and her husband kept hearing a loud, raspy sound from the patio of their apartment — night after night, the same call. Using the Merlin bird ID app, they identified the source: a barn owl. On October 3, Williams finally snapped a photo of the noisy neighbor, confirming it. She named him Scotty.
Barn owls don't hoot like storybook owls. They are ghostlike predators that fly in near-total silence, and their calls are harsh, drawn-out shrieks that can sound downright eerie echoing between apartment buildings. That otherworldly screech is what gave the family away.
Eight Owls in a Water Tower
Scotty wasn't alone. As many as eight barn owls — two adults and up to six juveniles — have been spotted coming and going from a hole in a neighborhood water tower, where the family has set up house. The nocturnal residents have drawn crowds of birdwatching enthusiasts who gather after dark hoping for a glimpse, with sightings tracked on social media accounts like Manhattan Bird Alert, run by birder David Barrett.
"It's a truly special experience... that people can come out to a public space like this and look at these owls at night," Barrett told CBS News. For New York City wildlife lovers, it's the kind of moment that doesn't come around twice.
Why This Manhattan Nest Matters
Barn owls are considered an extremely rare sight in New York City, with only occasional sightings in recent years. New York sits at the northern edge of the species' range, and their habitat has shrunk dramatically as land development has swallowed the open fields and old barns they favor. State wildlife officials list the species as in rapid decline.
That's what makes this nest so significant. "The presence of a nest right in the middle of the country's biggest city is really exciting," said Jessica Wilson, executive director of the NYC Bird Alliance. To Paul Sweet, an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History, the Upper West Side owls are a sign that "some environments in New York City are becoming more raptor-friendly" — proof that even Manhattan can still make room for wild things.
The Rodenticide Danger Facing the Owls
But the celebration comes with a warning. Barn owls feast on rodents, and New York's rats are routinely poisoned with rodenticide. The poison doesn't stay in the rat — it travels up the food chain into the predators that eat them. "Rats in New York City are often poisoned by rodenticide, meant to kill the rats. But actually, what it does is kill the predators that feed on those rats," Wilson told CBS News. "And if barn owls are eating several rats a day, they are likely to fall prey to this horrible death."
The city knows this story all too well. In 2024, Flaco, the beloved Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped the Central Park Zoo and captivated the city, died after striking a building. The necropsy revealed a severe case of pigeon herpesvirus — and four different types of rodenticide in his system, which likely contributed to the fatal crash. In response, the city passed "Flaco's Law," including a pilot program to control rats with contraception rather than poison. Whether that shift comes fast enough to protect Scotty's family is an open question.
A Welcome Distraction for New Yorkers
For now, the owls are pure joy. Wildlife photographer and author David Lei called the nest "something to be celebrated," adding that it "should also galvanize people to do more to protect our wildlife." And for residents worn down by the daily news cycle, the owls are a gift. "You wake up in the morning and wonder what kind of new hell are we going to have today," neighbor Lydia Sugarman told the New York Times. "And now we have this wonderful distraction."
Eight barn owls in a water tower, shrieking over the Upper West Side — the first Manhattan nest in modern history, and a reminder that nature keeps finding its way back, even in the country's biggest city.
No comments:
Post a Comment