Susan Ortega

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.

Thank you to those who quickly alerted me and to the @nycbirdalliance and @nysdec for taking action to get the workers to stop immediately. Unfortunately, the damage is already done. The owlets inside were flushed out, which was certainly a frightening experience for them. At least one is roosting fully exposed. They are capable of flight but may not yet capable of finding appropriate roosts (other than the original nest). They will need to learn fast. The owlets also cannot hunt for themselves yet and were still being fed on the water tower by their parents. In addition to experiencing dangerous short-term stress, their remaining development may be altered by this sudden change. Hoping for the best for this family. Animals can be so resilient in the face of all the challenges people throw at them. And perhaps everything will be fine for them in the end. Nevertheless, this work probably broke federal and state law and those accountable should answer for their actions. Photo from a couple weeks ago showing four of the five (maybe six) owlets lined up together. Happier times.