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Screeching American Barn Owl spotted living on UWS — here’s why he’s moved to the big city

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Donlevy, K. (2026, October 7). Screeching American Barn Owl spotted living on UWS — here’s why he’s moved to the big city. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/07/us-news/american-barn-owl-spotted-in-upper-west-side-near-central-park/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-07 · by Katherine Donlevy

Quick Summary

An American Barn Owl has been spotted living on New York City's Upper West Side for about a month, screeching loudly and hunting rats. A local resident first heard the owl’s distinctive raspy calls over Labor Day weekend and later saw it perched on a nearby ledge. The owl is believed to have moved from Central Park due to plentiful rat populations in the area, despite risks from rodenticides used legally outside the park boundaries. Bird enthusiast David Barrett confirms this owl has become a full-time resident of the Upper West Side.
Written by AI on 2026-10-07, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A Barn Owl, known for its distinctive heart-shaped face, has been spotted living in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The owl was first heard making loud "raspy" screeches over Labor Day weekend and has since become a local celebrity. A resident who captured photos of the owl from her patio on West 76th Street near Central Park West said she had initially been unable to identify the bird's unusual sounds until an app called Merlin identified it as an American Barn Owl. The sighting is particularly notable because the species is uncommon in urban areas, and this one has apparently moved into the neighborhood permanently due to abundant rat hunting opportunities.

Written for “Barn Owl In Urban Area” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Barn Owl In Urban Area
Environment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
16%
3 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16438 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Katherine Donlevy
52 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “NYC DOT has recently installed two all-way stop signs around this school in response to community requests— these decisions are guided by safety data and unique local conditions, and we will always work with communities to make our streets safer for everyone.”
🔮 Construction crews first wrecked the owls’ nest while dismantling a water tower on the Upper West Side building earlier this week, and DEC police ordered demolition to stop so the agency could investigate potential violations.
🔮 Anthony Daniel Palazzolo, 42, allegedly sent a series of Facebook messages to Patel’s associate earlier this month claiming he would target the bureau and had “put a hit out” on the director, according to United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. In one phone call, Palazzolo, of Chesterfield Township, allegedly told an FBI agent he would show up to the Detroit field office and “use deadly force against every single one of you government officials—FBI Secret Service will all be f[——] killed,” investigators said.
🔮 “My biggest thing was you could be the best driver on this planet, but other people just don’t know how to drive.”
🔮 Renzi witnessed as many as 400 bikes “blocking sidewalks and causing mayhem” at any given time, she said — with deliveristas treating the corner as a waiting room between Uber Eats and Seamless orders.
🔮 A lot of mental was really what it would be, but I do think it’s mainly based on the actual mile rather than exactly where it is.” What pulled Medjid through was seeing his friends and fellow running community members along the route — which helped him remember why he was running the race. “Before the race, write it on your hand.
🔮 The heavy patrol will include helicopters, drones, thousands of police barricades and more along the 26.2-mile route — which officials lined with colorful strips of paint Wednesday.
🔮 The local real estate broker admits that this year’s pumpkin is roughly 100 pounds lighter than last year’s — theorizing that the summer’s heavy rain may have been to blame for the stunted gourds. But he’s made up for the slight dip in size by planting several other pumpkins — ranging from 2 pounds to 120 pounds — and bales of hay across his 8th Avenue property.
🔮 A Paralympian and world-record holder will make history this weekend when she becomes the first blind solo cyclist to complete the annual 100-mile Century Ride race around the Big Apple.
🔮 First responders from across the tri-state will face off in a jiu-jitsu tournament this weekend to prove which agency has the most muscle — and celebrate those who put their lives on the line.
Also by Katherine Donlevy
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 52 articles by Katherine Donlevy →

Topics

American Manhattan Manhattan Bird Alert Merlin New York’s

Subjects

American NORP · 2× Barrett PERSON · 2× Williams PERSON · 2× David Barrett PERSON · 1× Manhattan GPE · 1× Manhattan Bird Alert ORG · 1× New Jersey’s GPE · 1× New York’s GPE · 1× a New Yorker NORP · 1×

Narrative

The white bird was snapped in a papparazzi-esque picture this weekend, titillating neighbors who are apparently impressed that he got such a sweet new Uptown pad without even having to interview with a co-op board. “It’s always fun to see what kind of wildlife we can get living near Central Park, but this was far more unique and exciting,” said a woman who snapped a picture of the owl from her West 76th Street and Central Park West patio, who asked to be identified only as Ms. Williams.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-07
🔮 The white bird was snapped in a papparazzi-esque picture this weekend, titillating neighbors who are apparently impressed that he got such a sweet new Uptown pad without even having to interview with a co-op board. “It’s always fun to see what kind of wildlife we can get living near Central Park, but this was far more unique and exciting,” said a woman who snapped a picture of the owl from her West 76th Street and Central Park West patio, who asked to be identified only as Ms. Williams.

Claims (19 extracted, 3 hedged)

An American Barn Owl has been spotted living in the big city — and he’s making sure all of Manhattan knows he’s here. asserted
he → spot → Manhattan
The critter — with a distinctive heart-shaped face — has been screeching on the Upper West Side for the past month after apparently moving into the neighborhood full time to take advantage of bountiful rat hunting opportunities in the area. asserted
critter → screech → area
The white bird was snapped in a papparazzi-esque picture this weekend, titillating neighbors who are apparently impressed that he got such a sweet new Uptown pad without even having to interview with a co-op board. “It’s always fun to see what kind of wildlife we can get living near Central Park, but this was far more unique and exciting,” said a woman who snapped a picture of the owl from her West 76th Street and Central Park West patio, who asked to be identified only as Ms. Williams. asserted
who → snap → Williams
She said she heard the owl well before she spotted him — she first heard his loud “raspy” screeches over Labor Day weekend. asserted
she → say → weekend
Neither she nor her husband could identify the unique screams and were even more perplexed when the Merlin app, which can identify bird noises, recognized it as an American Barn Owl. uncertain
which → identify → Owl
It wouldn’t be until a month later that Williams spotted the bird hanging out on a neighboring ledge. asserted
bird → spot → ledge
Multiple neighbors also reported seeing the owl flying through their yards in recent weeks, according to the West Side Rag, which first reported the rare visit. uncertain
which → report → visit
This particular American Barn Owl is likely the one that for the past two years had been hunting in Central Park, where the foliage has shrouded him from the normies but made him a favorite for birders. asserted
him → hunt → birders
“What’s new is it being, almost every night, on the Upper West Side outside of Central Park,” said David Barrett, the man behind the popular X account Manhattan Bird Alert. asserted
Barrett → ’ → account
“It’s reasonable to think that this owl is hunting on the Upper West Side, where it’s pretty easy to catch a rat. asserted
it → ’ → rat
Buildings have rats, and it’s easier to catch a rat on a flat surface around the building than it is in a park where rats have all sorts of places they can scurry to and hide,” he explained. asserted
he → have → places
Previously, birders theorized that the owl may have been flying to Central Park from New Jersey’s Meadowlands to hunt, but the rats have apparently proved so bountiful that the bird has become a New Yorker full-time. uncertain
bird → theorize → Meadowlands
That’s big news,” said Barrett. asserted
Barrett → ’ → ?
That’s not to say that the Big Apple is not without barn owls. asserted
Apple → ’ → owls
Roughly a dozen live on an island in Jamaica Bay, where conservationists have installed dedicated wooden nesting boxes to support their population. asserted
conservationists → live → population
The bird venturing out onto the city streets, however, does raise cause for concern. asserted
bird → venture → concern
“This is a problem, as I see it, because outside Central Park is also where it’s totally legal and widespread to use rodenticide. asserted
it → see → rodenticide
Rats outside Central Park can be assumed to be laden with rodenticides, or to have encountered them, at the very least,” said Barrett. asserted
Barrett → assume → least
Intervention is unlikely — the species can reach top speeds of 20 miles per hour, making capture difficult. But fortunately, the barn owl appears healthy and enjoying city life. asserted
owl → reach → life
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