New Owls on the Block

The Jamaica Bay wildlife refuge is home to a surprising array of wildlife for being within earshot of New York City—it hosts over 300 species of birds, as well as several types of frogs, turtles, snakes and small mammals. And as of this winter, it’s also home to a pair of Great Horned Owlets.

Bird photographer Francois Portmann first noticed and began documenting the nest on March 25, when the then-three-week-old owls were still white and downy. Situated just off a hiking trail and about 30 feet up in a tree, he believes the nest was originally built and left behind by a squirrel.

“I’ve learned that these owls are very indifferent about where they nest, they’ll setup anywhere,” he says.

The Jamaica Bay nest is certainly a neat phenomenon, says Audubon’s field editor Kenn Kaufman. But he’s not too surprised: “It’s my impression that [Great Horns] have been gradually moving into the city.”

Indeed, Great Horned Owls have lived around New York City for years now, mainly keeping to bigger parks like Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. What do they get out of city life? Judging by the components in their poop, a great supply of New York City rats. “These owls are opportunistic,” says Don Riepe, director of American Littoral Society’s Jamaica Bay Office.

Riepe says both Great Horned Owls and Red Tail Hawks (the owl’s daytime equivalent) now nest in every borough of New York City, as well as other metropolises across the country. New York City hosts other wildlife, too, he says: There’s coyotes, a growing deer population on Staten Island, and a cluster of skunks along the Upper West Side of Manhattan. As these populations grow and human development expands, “These animals are gradually adapting to urban areas,” Riepe says.

As for Jamaica Bay’s new owlets, he suspects they are now seven to eight weeks old—just old enough to learn to fly.

But they’re not always naturals: Portmann found one on the forest floor. The chick didn’t give up, though—after calling to its mother, it made a second attempt. “It took off and I couldn’t see it, but then I heard another crash landing in the trees,” he says. “During this first week, they just aren’t very good.”