'Mega-rare' snowy owl is spotted in Central Park for first time since 1890 as birdwatchers flock to catch once-in-lifetime glimpse
A snowy owl has been spotted in Central Park for the first time in more than a century, sending birdwatchers into a frenzy. Nearly 100 people gathered in the park Wednesday with binoculars and long lens cameras after the arctic owl landed on a baseball field in the early afternoon. The last time a snowy owl was spotted in the park was way back in 1890, with one birder describing Wednesday's sighting as a 'historic occurrence.' Snowy owls are native to the Arctic tundra, with their speckled black and white feathers allowing them to blend in to the wintry habitat. But while the birds sometimes fly south of Canada, they usually land along sandy beaches and almost never reach Manhattan. 'Yesterday's snow and cold to our north likely encouraged this snowy owl to fly south in search of better hunting conditions,' the Manhattan Bird Alert account posted on Twitter. 'These owls like flat lands and beaches, so the Central Park North Meadow, flat and with sand-fi