Austin’s Athena the owl welcomes first owlet

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin’s favorite owl has officially hatched her first owlet.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, where Athena the great horned owl has nested every year for over a decade, spotted the little white owlet on Wednesday.

Owl lovers can catch a glimpse of Athena’s baby through the wildflower center’s 24/7 owl cam livestream. Athena can also be seen immediately eating the owlet’s eggshell after hatching. Cornell Lab Bird Cams, which runs the livestream, said in a YouTube video last year that Athena eats the shell to keep the nest clean and gain some calcium.

Athena, who the City of Austin named Official Owl Ambassador last year, has just one egg left to hatch. She arrived at her nest above the wildflower center’s courtyard entrance on March 4, laid her first egg March 5 and laid her second egg March 9.

In another YouTube video showing the owlet in the daylight, Cornell Lab Bird Cams said the second egg should hatch in the next 48 to 72 hours.