New York life | Flaco, the raptor that fascinates New York

(New York) The first time David Lei saw Flaco, the eagle owl was standing in front of the Plaza Hotel, staring with its two big orange-yellow eyes into the windows of the Bergdorf Goodman store, located on the other side of 5^e Avenue, in the most upscale neighborhood of Manhattan.

“Its egrets were erect vertically,” recalls the photographer and amateur ornithologist, speaking of the bouquets of feathers that adorn the head of the eagle owl, also called the European eagle owl.

“That’s a sign he was stressed.” »

Flaco may well belong to the family of the largest nocturnal birds of prey in the world, but he was really not in his element on this evening of February 2. He had just escaped from the Central Park Zoo, where a vandal had gutted the enclosure where he had lived for more than 10 years.

But what to do with this unexpected freedom in this city bristling with skyscrapers, when you are a bird of prey born in captivity? Existential question that continues to fascinate New York, 10 months later.

David Lei, who happens to have a weakness for owls, remembers wishing Flaco would be captured. However, during his first nights of freedom, the budding predator was too distracted by the multitude of rats swarming in Central Park to be interested in those that the zoo employees placed in traps to bring him back home.

Alas, Flaco seemed to be predatory in name only. With a wingspan of almost two meters, it had difficulty using its majestic wings.

“I said to myself: here is a poor animal, unable to provide for itself,” says David Lei. “But I changed my opinion after he started hunting successfully a week later. He would be able to survive alone.

Humans and owls

Since Flaco’s escape, David Lei has been part of a group of photographers, videographers and bird watchers in New York who have fueled his social media legend to the point of making him a household name. are of interest to local and foreign media.

“Everyone loves Flaco, the escaped owl. But why, exactly? », asked the New York Times in the title of an article on the love story between New York and this raptor, which is not the first with which this metropolis has become infatuated.

Karla Bloem has her own theory.

“Since the dawn of time, humans have been fascinated by owls,” says the director of the International Owl Center, who follows Flaco’s adventures from Minnesota to New York.

Flaco is not there yet. But he is not the first raptor to make headlines in New York, where the appearance of wild or exotic animals never fails to arouse excitement.

A barred owl called Barry has attracted and entertained many ornithologists and visitors to Central Park, where it established its home in October 2020, in the heart of the pandemic.

David Lei took one of the best photos of the owl, capturing it as it reflected in the water of a fountain.

“She was a charismatic creature, as sassy, ​​confident and steady as Harry Potter’s beloved Hedwig. A teacher as wise and cheerful as Merlin’s Archimedes,” wrote the New York Times on August 11, 2021, a few days after Barry’s death.

The owl had been hit by a Central Park maintenance truck. An examination detected the presence of rodenticide in his body.

Looking for a soul mate?

All of Flaco’s friends fear that he will end up like Barry, killed by a vehicle or by rat poison (banned in Central Park). In captivity, the eagle owl could have lived for around thirty or forty years, according to Karla Bloem. Free in New York, he risks his life every day.

Hence the fear of Flaco’s admirers after his sudden disappearance from Central Park at the end of October. Where had he been? Had something bad happened to him?

The European eagle owl was found a week later, among the trees and sculptures of Kenkeleba House Garden, an open-air art gallery located in the East Village neighborhood, 5 miles south of Central Park.

But what was he doing there? The hypothesis of David Barrett, photographer and host of the Manhattan Bird Alert account on X, captured the public imagination and inspired many journalists. The eagle owl was looking for a soul mate.

“This is the time of year when these owls are looking to mate if they are not attached,” he said. “Flaco’s howls went unanswered for a long time. He is unaware that there is no companion for him in the region. »

Since then, Flaco has returned to Central Park to hunt, but he no longer spends every day there. According to observers, it is tired of being harassed by flocks of crows and screaming blue jays who want to keep away this super predator which can feed on birds when it tires of its diet of rodents.

The Legend of Pale Male

Monday afternoon, David Lei and David Barrett found Flaco perched on a fire escape overlooking the interior courtyard of a building located in the 80^e Street, a block and a half west of Central Park.

“There is an owl in the courtyard,” a resident of the building wrote to her husband in the morning in a text message accompanied by a photo of the bird of prey.

“It’s Flaco!” “, replied the husband before contacting David Barrett, whose account he follows on X.

At the end of the day, before Flaco flew to Central Park for his nighttime trip, the couple allowed four photographers and videographers, including the two Davids, to pass by his apartment to observe Flaco, who was still enthroned on his ladder , on the fifth floor of the building.

David Lei describes the scene: “He repeated the usual routine he does before going hunting. This includes a period of grooming, stretching and defecation. He did all of this, but a little faster than usual. »

Despite its popularity, Flaco still has a long way to go to eclipse in the hearts of New Yorkers Pale Male, a red-tailed hawk who died last May, 33 years after surprising specialists by building his nest on the ledge of a luxury building on 5^e Avenue, opposite Central Park. The Legend of Pale Malean award-winning documentary by Frederic Lilien, also discusses his many companions, including First Love, Chocolate, Blue, Lola, Lima and Zena.

Nevertheless, Flaco has already left its mark.

“His story resonates with us,” says David Lei. He was not expected to survive. He survives. He takes advantage of his freedom, explores the city. People are understandably worried about him. Me too. I would prefer it to be in the park. But people also admire him because he changes and does different things. »

Like a true New Yorker.