Texas rescuers rushed in after iconic Austin owl's last owlet was presumed dead, and found it alive

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."

Austin Wildlife Rescue was then contacted and retrieved the bird so rehabilitation could begin. Simons described the day as "a plot twist that we are very glad to see."

Athena, a resident great horned owl whose nest cam has made her a familiar figure in Austin, has used the center as a nesting site since 2012. The rescued owlet is one of her two babies from this season.

Why does it matter?

Ben Walters of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Bird Cams project said observers had noticed a decline in food being brought to the nest before the first chick died.

"It seemed like there was not enough food, potentially as one reason why that first chick died, because there wasn't enough to support both owlets at that time," Walters said. "This is [a] pretty common thing you see in bird nests when food supply is limited."

Walters also said Athena had been spending unusually long stretches away from the nest at night, likely while hunting. At this stage, the owlets still need warmth from their mother, and Athena's mate — typically the primary hunter — did not appear to have been delivering food.

What's being done?

Walters said the rescue happened at exactly the right moment, since intervening too early can create additional risks.

"We wouldn't want to have Athena abandon that site or view that site as a risky place to be when she's been successfully raising owlets there for more than a decade," he said.

Its appetite has already started to return, Jules Maron, executive director of Austin Wildlife Rescue, said after the owlet was placed in an incubator with blankets to help it warm up.

The owlet will stay in rehabilitation over the next few weeks. Once it is strong enough, Maron said, it will be paired with Eddison, a surrogate owl parent who regularly helps raise orphaned owlets so they can eventually return to the wild.

Austin Wildlife Rescue expects to admit 11,000 animals in 2026, including birds, turtles, raccoons, squirrels, and possums.

"It was amazing this baby was alive," Maron said.

She added of Eddison: "She is an excellent mom. She has been doing it a long time ... And she'll raise this baby and teach him to be an owl, so he can be released back into the wild."

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