On Thursday, I was the only owl watcher. It had been raining, so no one else came out. At fly out, the owl left its roost and went to the ridge between the compost heap and the nursery, but despite my best efforts to relocate it, I couldn’t.
On Wednesday, we found the Long-eared Owl in a new tree where the owl must have gotten some afternoon sun. The owl flew out to saplings on the hill between the nursery and compost but quickly went to the “rat’s nest”, a tangle of brush next to a dumpster. It made a few hunting passes before flying to a small tree by the side of the East Drive. It went down to the ground, most likely caught a mouse and then flew up and down the East Drive before going in the direction of the Wildflower Meadow.
The owl chose yet another roost tree today, but I couldn’t find the owl. At fly out, it was to the normal slope between the Nursery and Compost, then to the east face of the western hill of Compost before the owl went to a sampling along the East Drive. After about 8 minutes it appeared to catch a mouse just beside the road. Then it flew low across the East Drive toward the wildflower meadow. We saw the owl briefly but quickly lost track of it.
The news that Flaco has been killing and eating pigeons has raised some concerns on social media. His change of diet from rodents to pigeons most likely lowers his health risks. The pigeons are less likely to be poisoned by could contain lead, Avian Flu or Frounce.
What is a major concern is something the zoo administration, the “Free Flaco” movement, the media and local birding organizations have all chosen to ignore which is, what will Flaco’s impact be on native wildlife? Will Flaco move on from killing feral Rock Pigeons to native birds? And will he raid hawk and falcon nests, as Eurasian Eagle-Owls do in Europe and Asia?
This spring, because people acted in their own self-interests and only thought about the short term, we may have a major crisis. If Flaco behaves like other Eurasian Eagle-Owls and predates on raptor and falcon nests, what should be done? At this point he will be very difficult to recapture, since he’s left Central Park and changed diets. And since he is still the property of the WCS, who has the authority to recapture him is also a difficult question to answer.
The only option might be to let him take protected birds or euthanize him. Neither option is a positive outcome.
The likelihood that Flaco would interfere with native wildlife was clear from the beginning. It’s frustrating that we have let Flaco’s beauty, celebrity status and resilience blind us from focusing on the long-term impact of letting an invasive species remain loose in New York City.
The remaining owl chose a new roost for the day in a tree just to the west of its previous tree. At fly out, it went to the hill between the nursery and compost, and most likely caught and ate a mouse. It then went to a pile of brush next to one of the compost dumpster and hunted before flying off to the west.
The real thrill of the night was seeing the pair of Eastern Coyotes who were making their way south along the path that goes between the compost area and the Conservatory Garden. They went then made a loop in the nursery. I had to leave early, but reports are the pair howled five times.
I learned from some other owl watchers that Flaco has been seen with pigeons as early as December of 2023. This would make sense that as he expanded his territory, he would discover new prey.
On Friday night, Flaco repeated much the same behavior I saw on Monday. He used most of the same perches, and ate his pigeon on the same ledge as before.
The challenge now will be find out where he’s hunting!
