Family of barn owls on the Upper West Side captivates New York City birders

A family of barn owls has been spotted on the Upper West Side. 

Birders are heading uptown after dark to get a look. 

The owls have become the talk of the Upper West Side. 

"Residents of the surrounding block began hearing loud noises at night, loud raspy screeching noises. And that alerted them there's something going on," birder David Barrett said. 

Barrett runs the Manhattan Bird Alert account on X. He photographed two adult barn owls, and up to six adolescents. They've nested in the hole of a water tower near 76th Street and Central Park West. 

Owls are nocturnal, so birders have been flocking up to the site at night, hoping to catch a glimpse. 

"It's amazing. Five owls. Nobody's seen five owls before in New York City," birder Po Mang said. 

"It's a truly special experience ... that people can come out to a public space like this and look at these owls at night," Barrett said. 

According to New York City's Parks Department, barn owls are an extremely rare sight. Experts say it's the first time barn owls are known to have nested in Manhattan. 

"The presence of a nest right in the middle of the country's biggest city is really exciting," Jessica Wilson of the New York City Bird Alliance said. 

Wilson said owls eat mice and rats, which exposes them to risk. 

"Rats in New York City are often poisoned by rodenticide, meant to kill the rats. But actually what it does is kill the predators that feed on those rats. And if barn owls are eating several rats a day, they are likely to fall prey to this horrible death," Wilson said. 

The young owls have started taking test flights around the water tower at night as the parents hunt for food. For now, that gives New Yorkers one more reason to stop, look up, and be amazed.