Texas owl watchers were preparing for the worst after Athena, the resident great horned owl at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, was believed to have lost her last surviving baby in April.
Then experts noticed the owlet move, revealing it was still alive and setting off a rescue effort.
What happened?
Although the Wildflower Center had turned off its nest livestream, experts continued to monitor Athena’s 2026 nest. By then, one of the two owlets had been reported dead, and the second was believed to have died the next day.
That continued monitoring led to a breakthrough the following day when, according to KUT, experts at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology noticed the chick was still showing signs of life.
Scott Simons, a spokesperson for the Wildflower Center, said, “They noticed [Sunday] midday that there was some slight movement with the owlet.”…