2. About the Owl
Small in size among other “eared” owls
Nocturnal raptor
Usually red or gray in color
Found in suburban and rural areas
Non- migratory (stays relatively close to home area)
4. Habitat
Found in suburban and rural areas
Cavity nester but do not create the cavities
themselves
Lives in many parks in New York City
Willing to use nest boxes placed in parks
6. Central Park Reintroduction
Native to Central Park for decades
Decrease in population from 1930s-1950s
New York City Urban Park Rangers worked to
reintroduce the owl into the park
1998- NYCUPR released 6 owls into Central Park
-the owls were not equipped with monitoring devices
2001 & 2002- NYCUPR released 32 owls into Central
Park
- 30 of the owls were equipped with radio transmitters
7. Central
Park
New York City
Flickr Photo by Jimbowen0306
8. Central Park Reintroduction
Released owls were found to have 23% survival rate
Suggests that about 77% of owls died or left the area
Owl deaths due to lack of food, predation, impact with
objects, or rodenticide poison
2003- None of the 7 owls released in 1998 were found
7 owls from the 2001-2 release remained in the park
10. Tracking the Owls
Owls were banded and equipped with radio
transmitter backpacks
One month after 2001 release, 12 of 17 birds
equipped with radio backpacks had been separated
from backpacks
By 2003 all transmitter batteries had died
Central Park bird watchers contacted researchers
about sightings
Call surveys using owl calls
Collecting owl pellets to locate
12. Problems with Reintroduction
Most of the owls had slipped out of transmitter packs
Batteries of packs died
A decrease in bird watchers could lead to a decrease
in bird sightings, not necessarily a decrease in owls
13. Possible Causes of Owl Decrease
Lack of males or females, slowing reproduction rates
Poor weather conditions
Increase in owl predators
Collision of owls with other structures
Habitat or cavity destruction/competitors
Fewer bird watchers
17. Personal Observations
Relatively difficult to track the owls
Radio transmitters are not reliable
Most owls left Central Park area, the owls may know
which areas are best
18. Recommendations
Since 77% of reintroduction population left the
area, discontinue reintroduction
Research why owls choose other areas
Keep track of number of males and females
Check availability of owl habitats, add more nest
boxes if necessary
Track the owls’ available food sources and
reproduction rates
19. Bibliography
Bibliography
Andrle, Robert F. 1987. The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. Ed. Janet R. Carroll.
Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Audubon New York. Audubon Sharon: Resident Animals, Our Resident Screech Owls.
http://www.audubon.org/local/sanctuary/sharon/plant_animal/EasternScreechOwl.html.
Belthoff, James R. 1993. Home Ranges of Adult and Juvenile Eastern Screech-Owls: Size,
Seasonal Variation and Extent of Overlap. J. Raptor Res. 27: 8-15.
DeCandido, Robert. 2002. quot;The Screech-Owls of Central Park.quot; Birder's World 16, no. 6: 58.
Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 1, 2009).
DeCandido, Robert. 2005. History of the Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) in New York
City 1867-2005. Urban Habitats 3.1 (2005): 1-17.
Gehlbach, F.R. 1995. Eastern screech-owl (Otus asio). In Poole, A. & F. Gill, (Eds.) The birds of
North America (No. 165). Philadelphia: Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC:
American Ornithologists' Union.
Nagy, Christopher. “The Eastern Screech Owl Reintroduction Program in Central Park, New
York City: Habitat, Survival, and Reproduction” (M.S. Biology Thesis, Fordham
University, 2004), 1-46.
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The Daily Plant: Screech Owls Return to
Central Park. http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/prospectpark/dailyplant/11498.
Robbins, Chandler S., Bertel Bruun, and Herbert S. Zim. 1966. A Guide to Field Indentification:
Birds of North America. New York: Golden Press.
Sibley, David A. 2001. National Audubon Society: The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior.
Eds. Elphick, Chris, John B. Dunning Jr. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.