Who’s there? A rare family of barn owls takes over a water tower in Manhattan’s Upper West Side

Manhattan's Upper West Side has been hosting a rare family of barn owls nesting in a water tower atop a building near Central Park, marking the first documented instance of barn owls nesting in Manhattan in modern history. Experts are astonished by this event, as the barn owl population has been declining at an alarming rate in the area.

The owls have attracted nightly crowds of people eager to catch a glimpse of the elusive birds. Elisabeth Williams, an Upper West Side resident, discovered the owls last week when she and her husband saw multiple owls at the water tower. Prior to this, the couple had seen a single owl on an apartment windowsill. The nesting of barn owls in Manhattan is rare, with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation noting that such sightings are uncommon in the city.

Barn owls are nocturnal birds that capture the attention of both birders and non-birders, making their presence on the Upper West Side particularly thrilling.