Huh?
A snowy owl was spotted swooping into Shirley Chisholm State Park over the holiday weekend, making its first appearance in the Big Apple in years.
The rare sighting prompted curious photographers, bird watchers, and wildlife enthusiasts to brave the winter weather to catch a glimpse of the majestic yellow-eyed bird at the Fountain Conservancy in Brooklyn. We gathered on the Avenue side.
“This is one of the most beautiful and distinctive owls in the world,” said the birder. manhattan bird alerthe told the Post. “This is Hedwig, the owl from Harry Potter.
“That's unusual. It's a rare sight in New York City and usually only seen in the middle of winter.”
The mostly polar white owl (hence its name) was first seen late Saturday afternoon.
Barrett said the last major sighting was in 2022, noting that this year's visit is part of a surge in snowy owls, an unpredictable migratory pattern due to a successful breeding season.
A snowy owl was spotted earlier this month Aboard the Bay Ridge Floating Barge. But by the time sightings surfaced, the bird had flown away from the coop.
“To date, this is the last time we are aware of any 'traceable' reports in Brooklyn,” Barrett said. “Two years of near-zero snowy owl damage in the New York City and Long Island area. …On the south shore of Long Island, there have been multiple reports of snowy owls already this season.
On Sunday, a Brooklyn park was crowded with birdwatchers with binoculars.
“It's an otherworldly experience,” Edmund Berry, 40, told the Post after making the trek from Manhattan.
Berry, who has photographed hundreds of bird species across North America, including numerous snowy owls, likened the New York City sighting to a transcendent moment.
“It's amazing to see something so obviously coming from the Arctic,” he says. “Seeing it in person is an amazing experience every time.”
Barrett, the wildlife photographer, noted that the owl, an annual bird that probably hatched this summer, probably flew more than 1,000 miles before landing in District 5.
The owl's cameo is even rarer, as experts estimate the total population in North America to be less than 30,000, and only a fraction of them migrate long distances in any given year. It has become.
“Shirley Chisholm State Park is a great habitat for snowy owls. It's relatively flat, not heavily forested, and there are lots of mice,” he added. “Snowy owls have no problem shifting their hunt from the much smaller lemmings of the arctic tundra to the larger New York rats.”
Birdwatcher Gus Kerri ventured out to the park around 8 a.m. Sunday morning and spotted an owl perched near a path in the fog. He compared looking at it to a “spiritual experience.”
“The moment I saw the snowy owl for the first time, I fell in love with it,” Keri said. “And when I heard about it, especially if it was Brooklyn, I was hooked. I immediately wanted to share the happiness with everyone. It was an amazing experience.”
But around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, the snowy owl suddenly abandoned its perch atop the park, perhaps feeling the weight of its wandering eyes.
Birdwatchers watched the owl take flight over the Atlantic Ocean and settle on an undisclosed island in the bay. and that still partially visible Monday morning on a small piece of land.
It could remain in the Big Apple for the winter. And other snowy owls may be sighted until March, when they make the long journey back to the North Pole.
“They're coming back. Birds can fly, so you never know what's going to happen,” Berry added.
