Owls and the Circle of Life

I'm going to start with the "good news" portion.

That horrendous looking thing above which seems like something out of a 1970's Toho Studios creature design workshop is, in fact, a Great Horned Owl owlet.  Ie:  a baby owl.  Now it's adorable, right?  Lil' baby owl.

Over here in Austin, we've sort of made the Great Horned Owl that nests at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center a  local celebrity.  We call her "Athena".  And every year for well over a decade, she's found a perch in the planters built into the gateway arch to the Wildflower Center.  In that spot, she lays her eggs and raises some bebes.   

Don't worry - it's safe from people and prying eyes.

the perch is up there in the right hand corner, like 15 feet up

I'm already a proud user of Merlin Bird ID, the birding app from the Cornell Labs.  It is my personal Pokemon Go! to record and ID the birds chirping around every time I walk the dog.  Cornell Labs also has a robust YouTube channel with lots of clips and many livestreams from around the world. 

Among these has been the Great Horned Owl Cam from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. 

Last year we watched as Athena laid two eggs and then raised two baby owls who grew up and flew away as real-life owls.  It was a whole scene.

I'm not sure this is from last year, but it's essentially what it looked like.

photo by Bill J Boyd

This year, Austin was very ready for Athena to return.  With the cam up, local news had taken interest, and my traffic and weather reporters on CW Mornings (by way of KXAN) had certainly engaged in *Owl Watch 2026!*.  

All seemed well. Athena lay two eggs.  They both hatched.  I'd check in like 5-10 times per day for a few moments to see how things were going over there.  Most of the time it was Athena chilling on top of the owlets.

Sadly, on Saturday, when we looked it seemed one owlet was moving and one was not.  But they're young and weird and don't always move - babies sleep - so I didn't think anything of it.  But Sunday word came down one of the owlets had died.  Then, Sunday afternoon the Wildflower Center announced both had died, and Athena had abandoned the perch.

I'm not sure what happened.  Rumor is that maybe Athena's mate had died as an owl was found dead nearby.  If he died, it meant no one was bringing food, which meant Athena had to go get food, which left the babies exposed for longer periods.  It happens.

Or maybe something else occurred.  The owls aren't talking.

But then, this morning, there was an announcement that the staff at the Wildflower Center decided to check the nest Athena had abandoned and one of the owlets was actually still alive.  

It's not a great look for Athena, but I'm not an owl and won't judge.  

Anyway, the bebe is now with the Austin Wildlife Rescue.  They have the owlet and are taking care of it.  Reportedly the bebe is eating and whatnot.  Here's to a strong, healthy owl getting raised and going out into the world.

If you want to get an idea how desperate we are for good news, this baby owl is a major headline in Austin on every major news source this morning.