A rare family of barn owls moved into Manhattan's Upper West Side. New Yorkers are captivated

Manhattan's Upper West Side has been reveling in the company of its latest celebrities: A family of barn owls nested in a water tower atop a building near Central Park.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3851x2567+0+0/resize/3851x2567!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6a%2F71%2Ff7175ee9427ba61a914c9eb16fb9%2Fap26288102891335.jpg' alt='An American Barn Owl sits perched on a water tower on the Upper West Side neighborhood, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in New York.'/><p>Manhattan's Upper West Side has been reveling in the company of its latest celebrities: A family of barn owls nested in a water tower atop a building near Central Park. </p><p>(Image credit: Yuki Iwamura)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-148366' />