Susan Kirby

Inwood Hill Park in Upper Manhattan is home to at least one breeding pair of eastern screech-owls. These owls move around from hole to hole, and part of the fun of watching them is figuring out which hole they’ve moved to.

This eastern screech-owl can either be sunning and letting us watch him sleep, or hiding down in his hole, with an occasional glimpse.

Empire Eastern Screech-Owls

In 1964, Andy Warhol filmed “Empire,” eight hours of the Empire State Building shot from dusk to dawn. Warhol was experimenting with real time versus cinema time. Nothing really happens in “Empire,” except for the passage of time behind an iconic building. “Empire Eastern Screech-Owls” (Megascops asio) was inspired by “Empire,” and features eastern screech-owls seen in Inwood Hill Park in New York City in January 2019 and 2021. The 2021 owl was filmed over three days, with the longest visit on January 25, when the little owl slept in the sunshine for more than two hours. The filming in this video wasn't continuous, but as in “Empire,” not much happens except the passage of time. An owl sleeps. An owl opens the eyes at around 21:24​ and 26:05​, is visited by a nuthatch at 33:54​ and 36:28​, and moves the mouth a bit at 34:46​. Then there is more sleeping. Occasionally, wind blows a feather caught on the bark.

I visited a brooding screech-owl in Inwood Hill Park on April 14,  2018, to watch the owl sleep.

These robin-sized nocturnal owls eat small mammals and birds. The female rarely leaves her eggs, relying on the male to bring her food. The Filming the Feathers video is accompanied by a Chopin nocturne while she sleeps. It is sort of like watching paint dry, except a nicer image and the knowledge that the lack of action means the owl wasn't disturbed by my presence.