NYC Birders Looking for Owls

A great-horned owl that visited Central Park last year

Bird biologist Robert DeCandido is leading tours in New York City this week to spot owls–eastern screech owls in Central Park and great horned owls in the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.

The winter is a good time to see owls because the leaves are gone, making it harder for them to hide, and they fly out at dusk, which is late afternoon.

Last Sunday birders counted 59 species of birds in Central Park on the first day of NYC Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count. (The count goes on until Jan. 5, so you can still play and there’s an organized count in the Bronx on Dec. 26.) Birding Bob notes that “Our group added three species that no one else saw (Winter Wren; Peregrine Falcon and just before 9am, an Orange-crowned Warbler).”

DeCandido and his companion Debs took amazing pictures recently of an immature sharp-shinned hawk and a female Ring-necked Duck on the Reservoir.

Check out Birding Bob’s tours

Where to See Wildlife in the Northeast

Wednesday, December 22nd (OWLS): 4pm – NYBG in the Bronx – Meet at 4pm at the Main Gate (opposite the MetroNorth Train Station) – $5. OWLS! We will head to a location to watch the fly out of the Great Horned Owls for the evening. Since dusk is about 4:45pm, we should be done by 5:30pm or so. NYBG is open for free all day. Trains leave Grand Central at about 20 minutes past the hour and take about 20 minutes to reach NYBG (two stops). For more info, do email or call us (718-828-8262).

Regular bird walks in Central Park: Dec. 24, 26, 9 am, Conservatory Garden $5.

Sun., Dec. 26 (Eastern Screech-owls): 4pm – Owls at Central Park – 105th street and Central Park West – $5. OWLS! Since dusk is about 4:45pm, we should be done by 5:30-5:45pm or so. The B/C trains stops across the street, though check weekend schedules. For more info, do email or call us (718-828-8262).

Wed., Dec. 29 (OWLS): 4pm – NYBG in the Bronx – Meet at the Main Gate (opposite the MetroNorth Train Station) – $5. We will head to a location to watch the fly out of the Great Horned Owls for the evening. Since dusk is about 4:45pm, we should be done by 5:30pm or so. NYBG is open for free all day. Trains leave Grand Central at about 20 minutes past the hour and take about 20 minutes to reach NYBG (two stops). For more info, do email or call us.

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