i didn't feel comfortable sharing this on twitter where the flaco discourse can get very heated but i am pretty happy with this take so i'd like to share it somewhere 🦉🪶🧪
ryanmandelbirder.substack.com/p/flaco-is-d...
Thanks Ryan, this fits well with how I feel. I thought most captive birds couldn’t be released and was bummed to learn Flaco was a healthy owl in a small cage. But NYC is wicked dangerous and I leaned toward recapture vs fly free. I also didn’t know Barrett helped thwart Flaco’s capture.
yeah - it's not like he actively told people to do it, but in publicizing every step of the wcs' attempts to recapture the bird (and tweeting "Free flaco" a bunch), i think it was clear what his intentions were.
that being said, barrett is weird but he's gotten a lot of people into birding and shapes nyc bird culture and i don't think of his intentions as being evil or anything, even if he publicizes owl locations. i just try to ignore him which is easier living in a different borough.
Yes, I thought his account was very inspiring when I first joined Twitter - wow, look at all the species in Central Park! Later, the controversy around his account made me take a few steps back. (Reposting photos w/o credit and, yes, owl locations.)
I read this earlier in your newsletter (I’ve been avoiding the Flaco discourse for quite a while). I think you did a great job writing about the various angles of this situation. Thank you.
Thank you for this very nuanced look at this. I really hope there will be some changes in NYC after this. I feel like most people on both sides could agree on that.
I live in a region of eagle owls, with them nesting in our city. But the city is small, glass is a problem, so is light, yet they can easily escape into the woods that surround the town. When I first heard about Flaco, I simply felt sorry for the bird for not being in our woods where he belonged.
a poisoned rat would be easy prey, given that it would be slower and more likely to appear in the open. it's a prevalent issue that our urban raptors face.
central park doesn't use rat poison, so it's less of a problem for hawks inhabiting the park. if a bird chooses to leave the park to feed on the streets, that's when it becomes a bigger issue.
Thanks! He will be missed. His unfortunate accident is being investigated and likely resulted from being sick by eating poisoned rats that were in Central Park and surrounding areas.
A post-op necropsy will be out any day now to address the possible underlying cause for his accident. 😔
If poisoned rats, I hope it'll encourage people to talk to their supers and encourage that they find other methods to control rats that don't harm our urban raptors.
Excellent pieces. I certainly understood that Flaco might be living on borrowed time but he was LIVING. While many species may do fine in zoo pens appropriate for their needs, I don’t think that can ever be the case for an Eagle Owl. I question the decision keep such an animal in a small roost.
Thank you for this. I live on the other side of the world in a (relatively) pretty quiet area. I sadly have not visited NYC so can’t imagine how busy it would have seemed to Flaco.
Many of your thoughts have been going round my head & I really enjoyed how you put it all together. 🙌
