Editor’s note: The above video is KXAN coverage of Athena the Owl from March 14, 2024.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Whooooo’s back?!
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s beloved resident owl Athena is back at her nest for the 13th year in a row, the center confirmed Friday. Athena laid her first egg on Thursday and is poised to lay a second one in the coming days, wildflower center leaders announced.
Athena and her mate have nested at the center for more than a decade, with her nestling into a space above the wildflower center’s courtyard entrance. Last year, the center said she and her mate fledged two young owls from their nest.
“When conditions are right and her eggs hatch into owlets, she provides a rare opportunity to view a wild great horned owl rearing her young,” the wildflower center shared on its website.
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Athena, a great horned owl, at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin on March 2, 2024. (Courtesy Bill J. Boyd) -
Athena, the great horned owl at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (Courtesy: Bill J. Boyd)
Those interested can watch an owl camera feed on the wildflower center’s YouTube page. The camera stream is developed in partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the center added.
Center experts said it’s anticipated Athena will remain in her nest for another 30 days or so, occasionally leaving for food and drink breaks when her mate doesn’t bring her some room service. She will remain at the nest until those owlets hatch.
“After 30 to 35 days, her eggs will begin to hatch and then we’ll all be able to watch as her owlets develop and grow so quickly, then fledge!” the center said.
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