Our two owls seem to be sleeping in separate beds each evening. We have one sleeping consistently in one cavity, who is then greeted by a second owl, who appears out of nowhere, just after fly out.
On Tuesday, Marianne Girds saw the two owls copulate, so we definitely have a couple.
I came into the park during a break in the snow storm to look for the screech owls.
There was no sign of them, so I went off hawk watching. It was a good day for watching Pale Male and Lola, as there were other birds in their territory including a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, an American Kestrel, a Turkey Vulture and a Cooper’s Hawk.
I went back in the late afternoon to look for any sign of the owls and got to see one fly out and then got to watch them for about an hour after the fly out. The combination of the snow and low cloud cover created a glowing background to see the owls in the dark.
After being away for Thanksgiving, I was finally able to get back into Central Park on Saturday. I was able to relocate the Eastern Screech-Owl I had seen two weeks ago. It was in a nearby tree.
I was able to photograph my first Central Park Screech-Owl of the season on Sunday. (I had seen a Screech-Owl two weeks ago, and heard another three weeks ago but was unable to photograph them.)
The owl is in a very public place, so please forgive me for keeping its location a secret.
The owl waited until it was very dark to fly out and I lost it as soon as it flew out.
While there were reports of Eastern Screech-Owls sightings over the last month and the sighting of a Saw-whet last weekend, today was the first day I saw or heard owls first-hand.
I saw my first owl of the fall, a Northern Saw-whet Owl. Plus while leaving the park at dusk, I heard the trill call of an Eastern Screech-Owl.
I went up to the Pool this evening and was unable to find a single owl. The tree leaves are just too dense to have any hope of finding them.
This season was very satisfying. The parents and the fledgling were a wonderful group to observe and I learned a great deal about Eastern Screech-Owl behavior.
Until next year, back to hawks for the rest of spring…