10.25.2012 | HOLYOKE - Onlookers photograph a Barred Owl roosting at the entrance to Holyoke Health Center on Maple Street Thursday.

(Photo by The Republican | Greg Saulmon)

UPDATE, 8:57 p.m.: An animal control officer took the owl into protective custody shortly after 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The owl did not appear to be injured, but officials grew concerned when it did not leave its roost after night fell. A new story has been posted.

HOLYOKE -- Downtown workers, residents and visitors got a rare avian treat Thursday when a Barred Owl set up shop at the entrance to the Holyoke Health Center on Maple Street.

Barred Owl makes appearance at Holyoke Health Center 11 Gallery: Barred Owl makes appearance at Holyoke Health Center

The owl was first spotted in the early morning hours perched on a pipe above the building's main entrance. By early afternoon, it had moved to a glass awning about 12 feet above the ground, stopping traffic and drawing dozens of curious onlookers.

Ginger Taillefer of Agawam, an office manager at City Clinic, first spotted the owl around 8 a.m. "It's been crazy," she said. "There's been -- everybody out here."

Taillefer said colleagues had been in touch with Mass Audubon and a city animal control officer, who speculated that the nocturnal predator would fly away once night fell. "The concern is that there's something wrong with the bird," Taillefer said. "But, they're nocturnal, so I don't know."

"No one can believe it," she added. "I just think it's so crazy."

Known for its distinctive call of "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?", Barred Owls typically roost in forests during the day. The species is a year-round resident of Massachusetts, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Encounters with humans are not uncommon. Last October, a state trooper was credited with saving the life of a Barred Owl that was found injured on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Still, owls are a rare sight in such an urban setting.

Jody Spitz of Amherst, a family literacy coordinator at the nearby Picknelly Adult and Family Education Center on Maple Street, was at work when another teacher told her about the owl sighting.

"There have been a lot, a lot, a lot of people," she said of the attention the owl had drawn. "There have been kids from Head Start, and there have been kids from the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative, who are more teenagers."

Scanning the group gathered on the sidewalk -- many photographing the taupe, wide-eyed bird with cell phones -- Spitz said, "Just look at this crowd of people who are so excited to see an owl downtown."