AUSTIN, Texas — One of Austin’s favorite feathered friends is back!
Athena the great horned owl is back once again at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the center has again set up an “owl cam” so viewers can watch her via a livestream video.
Athena returned to the center’s raised planter at the entrance last week to nest. She currently is sitting on two eggs, which will hatch in around four weeks.
Athena will take care of the owlets for around six weeks until they’re ready to leave the nest.
The owl has been returning to the same spot for the past 15 years. Her first appearance at the wildflower center was in 2012. Three years later, she returned to lay three eggs.
In 2017, Athena was seen at her nest once again. That year, she hatched two owlets.
In 2019, she laid only one egg. From 2020 to 2023, she laid two eggs each year.
More on great horned owls
Great horned owls are seen relatively frequently across the U.S. and adults can usually be found in trees, orchards, wooded areas, ledges and even unoccupied buildings.
Despite their appearance, the owls’ so-called horns are actually nothing more than a collection of feathers.
When hungry, the aggressive creatures tend to feed on anything from rabbits and mice to scorpions, cats and even porcupines, depending on what’s available to them.
For more than 50 years, the species has continued to populate not just in the U.S., but Canada and various South American countries.
Returning almost every year, Athena has become a well-known part of the wildflower center.