Wildflower Center Great Horned Owl Cam Timeline

Review the main events, including nesting cycle milestones and other noteworthy incidents, in this historical timeline of the Great Horned Owl Cam at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

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2025
2024

The owlets from the Great Horned Owl Cam fledged on May 18 and May 25, and they are now exploring their territory at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. Watch their departures and learn what comes next for the young owls!

The owlets from the Great Horned Owl cam hatched on April 9 and 11. Catch the first daytime glimpse of both tiny owlets as Athena rises from the nest the morning after the second hatchling emerged. Though she keeps them mostly tucked under her, she offers a quick peek at their fuzzy little behinds.

The Great Horned Owl Cam has returned for another breeding season from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas! This marks the second year the nest will be streaming live to the public, but it’s also the fifteenth consecutive year that the female owl, Athena, has returned with her mate to breed at this site. Watch her roll her two eggs, laid on March 6 and 9.

The second owlet has left the Wildflower Center Great Horned Owl nest, concluding the 2024 nesting period for the owls in Austin, Texas. The new fledgling and its sibling will remain in close company for several weeks as they investigate their natal territory. They may roost together on trees and ledges, and we may be able to follow some of their activities if they stay within range of the cam. Athena and her mate will continue to watch after and feed their fledglings throughout most of the summer until the youngsters are ready to disperse at 3–4 months post-fledge.

The first owlet of 2024 accidentally fledged from the Great Horned Owl Cam nest at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, on the night of May 14. The fledgling has been spotted safely exploring the areas surrounding the nest in the days after.

The second and final Great Horned Owl chick has hatched after 32 days of incubation on April 6, two days after its elder sibling. Athena revealed her youngest owlet during an early morning incubation break. The owlet’s downy feathers were still matted and damp from being inside the egg, and it barely had the strength to lift its head.

The Great Horned Owls nesting at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center have officially welcomed their first hatchling of the 2024 breeding season! Watch Athena rise over her nest and reveal the first glimpse at her white, downy owlet at 3:48 P.M. on April 4.

Athena laid her second egg around 1:30 A.M. on March 5. Watch the female Great Horned Owl take an incubation break later in the morning and reveal a clutch of 2 eggs. Based on past observations at this site, Athena typically lays 2 eggs per breeding attempt. However, Great Horned Owl clutch size can range anywhere between 1 and 4 eggs.

Bird Cams is excited to announce our new Great Horned Owl Cam, in partnership with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Great Horned Owl Cam will follow the female owl (named “Athena”) and her mate as they attempt to raise a family this spring.

Watch Athena lift off her nest to reveal a single white egg on March 1. This egg marks the start of the Great Horned Owls’ breeding season at their nest located in a raised planter above the entrance of the Wildflower Center’s Courtyard.