Barry the owl, beloved by NYC birders, dies in Central Park collision

Barry the Barred Owl, whose majestic presence and unusually extroverted demeanour made her a beloved Central Park celebrity, died early Friday in a collision with a Central Park Conservancy maintenance vehicle.

She was most likely just over a year old based on her feather colour, according to Robert DeCandido, known as “Birding Bob,” who has guided bird walks in Central Park for more than 25 years. Birding experts had realized in recent months that Barry was female.

Over the past year, as Barry made a home for herself on the branch of a hemlock in Central Park’s Ramble, she developed a cultishly devoted following of birders, photographers, joggers and other New Yorkers who came to depend on her for cheer and comfort during a year of grief for the city.

Barry died around 2:30 am, when she “made contact” with the vehicle of a two-person Central Park Conservancy maintenance crew, the conservancy said on Twitter. The vehicle was driving around the park doing early-morning inspection and cleanup, the conservancy’s chief communications officer, Mary Caraccioli, said.

The owl was most likely flying across Central Park’s West Drive to catch prey, according to the conservancy, and was not in the line of sight of the vehicle driver, who was moving at or below 15 mph, the conservancy said.

Staff reported the incident immediately, the conservancy statement said.

“This owl meant so much to so many people,” said Eric Balcanoff, 32, a photographer who started making daily visits to see and photograph Barry last fall. “There’s a lot of us who are devastated today. We always knew she might fly away and start a family, but none of us were prepared for this.”

Balcanoff’s experience mirrored that of many New Yorkers: Although he hadn’t previously spent much time observing wildlife, he was so drawn to Barry’s charisma that he ended up becoming an avid birder.

“She had such a lovable face and these soulful eyes,” Balcanoff said.

On Friday afternoon, when the conservancy announced her death, there was an outpouring of memories and mourning from Barry’s social media supporters, and #RipBarry trended on Twitter.

Caraccioli noted that tragic collisions like the one that killed Barry are rare.

“We were heartbroken," she said, "and we knew the community would be too.”

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