Standing Out Against A Field Of Green, A Very Rare Arctic Traveler Makes A Once In A Century Visit To Central Park!

clonejoe | February 8, 2021 | Articles

People living in New York City were quite literally treated to a once in a lifetime event when a very rare bird to the area, visited Central Park.

The last visit to Central Park from this species occurred over a century ago.

Standing out against a very green backdrop in stunning white stood a Snowy Owl, which usually spends its time in the Arctic during summer, migrating south in search of food during wither time.

*Photo Courtesy of Twitter/@ManhattanBirdAlert*

No one, however, expected this stunning raptor to come this far south!

David Barrett, an avid bird watcher who runs the Twitter page, Manhattan Bird Alert ,was first on the scene, alerting many New Yorkers to the park to catch a glimpse of the rare visitor on January the 27th.

Possibly pushed this far south because of the cold snowy weather the bird in question sat on the ground near a wire fence, slightly perturbed by some angry crows who were not at all enthusiastic by the larger bird’s presence.

A few days after the visit no more sightings of the Snowy Owl have occurred.

This sighting could be the first in Central Park since 1890, according to Paul Sweet, a zoologist at the American Museum of Natural History, who found records of a snowy owl’s visit a century ago.

“It probably ends up in Brooklyn or Queens, or it might even keep going farther east and end up in Long Island,” David Barrett said.

*Photo Courtesy of Bill Bouton – CC BY-SA 2.0* – *Muskegon Co., Michigan, USA.*

He went on to say that the New Jersey coast could be another possible destination.

Watch David Barrett’s video of this rare visit below:

Yesterday’s SNOWY OWL in the Central Park North Meadow, a once-in-a-lifetime sight. pic.twitter.com/SaCpWJbAIX
— Manhattan Bird Alert (@BirdCentralPark) January 28, 2021