Athena the Great Horned Owl Lays First Egg of 2026 - March 5, 2026

[Donkees]

Mar 5, 2026
Over the last few weeks, Athena the Great Horned Owl at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center owl cam has been making a few visits, keeping us on our toes throughout the early spring, wondering if she would continue to nest on the grounds. Early in the morning on March 5 our questions were answered: after calmly sitting for some time on the nest, at 1:31 AM she stood up and revealed an egg! This video shows the first daylight sighting of the egg, about 6 hours later.

In each of the past seasons she has laid two eggs and successfully fledged them. The second egg has been laid around 3 days after the first one, so keep an eye out for a potential second egg this weekend.

For the next month or so, Athena will incubate the eggs, leaving only briefly at night to eat and exercise. Although he is rarely seen at the nest, her mate will provide her with food either delivering directly or meeting her at a nearby perch for takeout.

For more than a decade, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, has been home to a nesting pair of Great Horned Owls. The female, who they have affectionately named Athena, nests right above the entrance to the courtyard in a sotol planter. 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.

Athena and her mate fledged two young from this site in both 2024 and 2025.