On Thursday, I caught up with an owl in the northern end of Central Park.  It got mobbed by crows and blue jays.  It also got a visit by about 25 elementary school children, on a tour of the North Woods with two Urban Park Rangers.  The children were on their best behavior and did their best not to disturb the owl.  However, two younger siblings started to play in some leaves. This noise and not the presence of all of these people peaked the owls attention.  I had noticed this ten years ago when I watched Eastern Screech Owls in these same woods.  Owls are hyper sensitive to the rustling of leaves.