Upper West Side water tower that was home to a nest of barn owls under construction, photos show

Photos and video show the roof of the water tower that had been home to a family of barn owls has been removed. 

The owls had nested in a hole in the water tower near 76th Street and Central Park West. 

Thursday, video from the scene showed the roof of the tower had been removed. A worker with a broom could be seen climbing on the exposed water tower roof beams. 

It's not immediately clear what happened to the owls, or the nest. 

CBS News New York has reached out to the building for more information. 

Neighbors in the area reached out to CBS News New York to express their concern. 

"NYC Bird Alliance was very troubled to hear about work conducted today on the Upper West Side water tower that, up until last night, was home to Manhattan's first Barn Owl nest. The construction work destroyed part of the tower, removing the roof. There is a high likelihood that this work disturbed the Barn Owl pair and the five or six fledglings," said Jessica Wilson of the NYC Bird Alliance. 

Wilson said that active nests of migratory birds are protected by federal and state law and the building is required to pause any work near the nest. 

"The destruction of a nest constitutes a wildlife crime," Wilson said, adding the NYC Bird Alliance has reached out to authorities about it. 

Two adult barn owls and up to six adolescents had recently been spotted at the water tower, to the delight of neighbors and bird enthusiasts. 

The New York City Parks Department said barn owls are extremely rare in New York City, and experts believed this was the first time barn owls were known to have nested in Manhattan. 

CBS News New York will update this story as more information becomes available.