Susan Ortega

It’s possible / probable we saw all of them during the course of the evening but we had five individuals simultaneously. We knew two were adults by their appearance and behavior, including their vocalizations. The owls—the adults it seems—are still perching on the remains of the nest occasionally. And many other buildings / structures in the neighborhood. Pictured is one of the adults on a different building in the neighborhood. They have not been observed visiting the nest box yet, but I’m glad one was put out for them just in case. Some FAQs: 1) Who owns the building / is responsible for the destruction of the nest? The building is a rental, not a co-op or condo. It is reportedly in an ownership dispute and currently under the control of the New York County Public Administrator. They have a third-party property management company taking care of the building. The property managers were reportedly well aware of the owl nest before beginning work Wednesday and Thursday. According to residents, DEC officials visited the building weeks ago and left their contact information. But the property managers decided to do what was described to residents as “scheduled maintenance” seemingly without contacting the DEC. After receiving a stop-work order from the DEC on Thursday, they then resumed work on Friday before receiving a cease-and-desist. 2) Is the destruction of the nest a violation of the law? Yes, it is a violation of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and state law. I hope the property managers are investigated and justice is done. CC: @bradhoylman, @ebottcher and @galeabrewer 3) What exactly was the nest? I believe that the nest was simply the middle of the floor of the attic or crawl space under the conical roof of the water tower. Barn owls nest in shallow “scrapes” in cliff recesses, tree cavities, or in the shelter of manmade structures. They do not build nests out of twigs and branches. Twenty years ago, a worker discovered a barn owl nest in a water tower in the Bronx. The access hatch to the water tower had blown off (just like the UWS water tower) and he found a group of owlets huddled together on the floor under the conical roof. 4) Was the repair of the water tower necessary? What should the property managers have done? First of all, the property managers described the work as “scheduled maintenance” and not urgent to residents. However, residents and neighbors report the water tower was in disrepair for a long time. So perhaps it should have been fixed a while ago. (Of course, that would have meant the owls nesting somewhere else.) Once it was clear that a protected nest was in the water tower, the property managers should have consulted with the DEC before working on it. They also should have obeyed the first stop-work order. 5) How old were the owlets? What exactly is the impact? We believe the owlets were about two months old and just beginning to fly when the nest was first discovered, which would now make them about three months old. They probably would have continued to use the nest for a couple more weeks—up to another month—before all dispersing by late November. We can’t know the timeline for sure because we don’t know exactly when the owlets hatched and how old they are. This is also an unusual situation and timelines that are typical elsewhere may not apply. Nevertheless, the owlets still rely on feedings from their parents and were not ready to stop roosting at the nest site naturally. They could have been harmed being flushed out of the nest, and they may now experience dangers from roosting outside that they weren’t prepared to handle. While the owlets can fly, they still seem pretty helpless. Thank you so much to everyone who is speaking out for this owl family, including @bradhoylman, @ebottcher, @galeabrewer, @nycbirdalliance, @wildbirdfund and @NycPlover!

As noted in a previous post, the adults were circling around the water tower for a while after dark last night and continuously making “kleaking” calls. Maybe for 30 minutes or so. This is a type of call they use to signal a food delivery to the young and I think they were trying to corral them back together, which they were ultimately able to do. I took this photo of one of the parents a couple of weeks ago. We think it may be the mom because of her large size relative to all the other members of the family. She’s such a beautiful bird. What chance does nature have in the city if we can’t even protect our most beautiful and charismatic wildlife? People have asked us how they can help. First of all, if you live in the neighborhood, keep an eye out for injured owls. They will be roosting on windowsills, ledges, air conditioners, etc., which is normal. If the owl is hunched over and / or still stationary more than an hour after sunset, there may be a problem. Call the @wildbirdfund. Second, this is a great time to support organizations such as @nycbirdalliance, @wildbirdfund and @NycPlover, who are doing so much to advocate for and protect birds in the city. Third, one way to help these owls and other birds of prey in the city long-term is to support the curtailment of rodenticides. The widespread use of rodenticides is not working to control the rat population but is devastating our birds of prey. Make your voice heard by signing the rodenticide petition at the link in my bio. Finally, keep up the outrage. This situation is not yet resolved. Building management attempted to do further work on the water tower today before being stopped. And the building’s property managers still need to be held accountable for what they did. This will also be a lesson learned for property managers around the city that they can’t disturb active nests, something they should already know but will definitely know now with all the attention this story is getting.