Giving A Hoot

As anyone who has been following the news recently, either through TV, print, or Twitter, you should know by now that a rare owl has escaped from his Central Park zoo enclosure and has been flitting around areas of Central Park.

Flaco, a Eurasian Eagle-owl has been capturing the attention of bird watchers and other citizenry with his tenacity and adaption to his freedom. It was initially thought that since he's been fed by zoo keepers—cage service if you will—that perhaps in the wild again he might forget how to feed himself. Not so.

Flaco has been doing fine, especially dining on the unlucky rats that he swoops in on. So far, he seems to have confined his flights and perching to Central Park. It is not known if there have been attempts to get him to Brooklyn to help NYC Mayor Eric Adams deal with the rat problem on a building he owns and rents.

The Mayor has had the irony of fighting City Hall himself over Department of Health and Building violations he's received over the presence of rodents at his property. He's spent beaucoup bucks on eradication, but there's still a problem. He's mitigated some fines, but paid others. An owl just might be the rodent eradicator he needs, if only Flaco would fly to Brooklyn.

Flaco is hardly the only owl seen in the parks. Bird watchers of all stripes have been posting photos on Twitter of their presence on tree branches and in hollows of tree trunks. If you look up and see an owl, it's more than likely a living bird rather than an empty cellophane bag of Wise potato chips blown into the branches. These owls don't litter.

Seen here is an Eastern screech-owl who has taken up residence in Inwood Park in upper Manhattan. And why not? These parks in Manhattan can be officially categorized as forests, especially Central Park. Who knew?

And it is not only owls that are taking up residence on the cheap from expensive vantage points in New York City. Pictured to the right are two Red-tailed hawks (Fred and Ginger?) perched in the north tower of the Beresford Apartments overlooking Central Park, looking very content resting between two stone cherubs.

Looking at the family cat I distinctly see similarities in poses, particularly around the ears and eyes between cats and owls. Cats can't turn their heads and suddenly see who's on their "six" like an owl, or spin their head around like Linda Blair in The Exorcist, but the ears do act as radar discs, and pick up the faintest of sounds.

I wonder what cable channels cats and owls get.

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