NEW YORK, N.Y. — State environmental police ordered a halt to demolition Thursday after workers took the roof off an Upper West Side water tower in New York where barn owls had raised young in what was the first known barn owl nest in Manhattan.
The tower sits on top of a building close to Central Park West at 76th Street. The owls drew crowds of neighbors and photographers after they were found there a few weeks ago. Watchers had counted two adults and as many as six young birds. City parks officials have said barn owls are extremely rare anywhere in the five boroughs.
The NYC Bird Alliance said it began hearing Thursday morning from residents and birders that someone was working at the top of the tower. By the time Jessica Wilson, its executive director, reached the building, no crews were on site, and the top of the tower was gone. She later saw one fledgling sitting on a nearby roof in daylight, which she said is a sign the nocturnal bird had been pushed out of the nest. No other young owls were seen.
Officers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation went onto the roof with the superintendent’s permission. The department said they found the nest exposed and told the owner to stop taking down the tower until further notice while it looks into possible violations.
Wilson said nests in active use by migratory birds have protection under federal and state law and that destroying one is a wildlife crime. The alliance has reported the case to authorities. It was not yet clear who owns the building or who ordered the work.
