A rare snowy owl was spotted in Central Park, New York, after more than a century on January 27. A video of this rare owl at the park was released on the account of the Manhattan Bird Alert where it can be seen sitting beside a crow at the North Meadow ballfields. While tweeting the video, they also informed that people who are watching the rare bird are being respectful and staying behind distant fences. According to ornithologist Paul Sweet, the owl was last recorded to have appeared in Central Park in 1890.
The SNOWY OWL of the Central Park North Meadow was not much bothered by the crows that gathered around it earlier and that have now returned. People are staying behind distant fences and being quiet and respectful. pic.twitter.com/BKjGPRiKCZ
— Manhattan Bird Alert (@BirdCentralPark) January 27, 2021
https://twitter.com/pablo_dulce/status/1354529711716757515
I know how exciting this is, but this poor owl looks stressed out to me. Less people, the better.
— Amy (@sackettstsnaps) January 27, 2021
American scientist Peter Gleick commented on the tweet and said he was worried that this is going to end badly for the owl because of several factors including the prevalence of uncontrolled dogs and the number of birders in New York among other reasons.
I'm very worried, given the propensity of Snowy Owls to perch on the ground, the intensity and number of NYC birders, the prevalence of uncontrolled dogs in Central Park, and the difficulty of getting around NYC's tall buildings, that this is going to end badly.
— Peter Gleick (@PeterGleick) January 27, 2021
A Twitter user named Amy said she understands it is exciting but a lesser number of people was better as the owl looked stressed out.
Another user was also concerned about the owl. He tweeted that it must have been difficult for the owl to get there and now negotiating its way out will also be tough.
Wow! Imagine the obstacles it had to avoid to get there - and also to negotiate on the way out Fingers crossed for a positive end to an amazing story.
— Jim (@jammyjimm) January 27, 2021
I know how exciting this is, but this poor owl looks stressed out to me. Less people, the better.
— Amy (@sackettstsnaps) January 27, 2021
Others, however, bird watchers were enthusiastic about the appearance of the snowy owl in Central Park. Entertainment reporter Ben Lyons said that there is Hogwarts energy in the city right now.
Hogwarts energy in the city right now https://t.co/v1PFkt05r6
— Ben Lyons (@iamBenLyons) January 28, 2021
Another user also said that snowy owl has been his favourite since the Harry Potter days. In the Harry Potter series, a snowy owl named Hedwig was the protagonist's pet. It was gifted to him by Rubeus Hagrid on his 11th birthday.
Woke up to this Snowy owl has always been my favourite since the Harry Potter days https://t.co/wvsm58xH7H
— Akkash (@SavageAT_) January 30, 2021
According to a report in The New York Times, the onlookers were around 200 feet away from the owl. This was because the fields are fenced in winters to allow the grass to grow there. However, Parks Department ranger Dan Tainow said that someone was trying to get a photograph of the owl from the top which was stressing it out.
The owl was nowhere to be found on Thursday, January 28.
Belonging to Arctic Tundra, snowy owls migrate to the south during winter, generally towards the beaches. They are also called the Arctic owl, polar owl, and the white owl. There has been a massive decrease in the number of snowy owls. Their numbers in December 2017 reduced to 28,000 from 200,000 in 2013.