Great Horned Owl Flies the Coop

After gracing our presence for more than a month, the Great Horned Owl that was discovered during the 2005 Central Park Christmas count took off for parts unknown. I took this photo on the last night he was seen, Friday, January 27th.

This photo was taken after the owl had hopped down to a lower branch and was stretching in anticipation of the evening's activities. This was my last photo of the day.

I walked over to a park bench about 20 yards from where a small crowd had gathered under the tree where the owl was perched. I was putting away the last of my gear when I heard someone yell "There he goes." When I looked over I saw the crowd had taken off in hot pursuit. I did not see the owl fly but based on the crowd's behavior I figured the bird had gone west.

I don't know what happened after that because I left the park but I hear this is pretty typical of what happens at a "fly out."

The Great Horned Owl was never seen in the park again.

There are more photos of him here: http://www.calvorn.com/gallery/photo.php?photo=6042