Athena Returns! Great Horned Owl Lays First Egg Of 2025 At Wildflower Center

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 on the Cornell Lab Bird Cams, but it’s also the fifteenth consecutive year that the female owl, Athena, has returned with her mate to breed at this site. In 2024, the pair successfully raised two fluffy owlets to fledging—now we’re gearing up for another fun-filled breeding season in 2025!

After weeks of scouting the nest site, Athena made her big move on March 6, laying her first egg of the season in a raised planter above the Wildflower Center’s gardens. Great Horned Owls may lay up to 4 eggs per clutch, but Athena has typically laid two eggs per breeding season. A second egg could arrive anytime within the next 1–4 days (or even longer), so stay tuned.

From now on, Athena will devote most of her time to incubating her eggs and brooding her chicks once they hatch. Meanwhile, her mate’s job is to keep the food coming, but there’s no telling when we’ll actually see him. In 2024, Athena’s mate only visited the nest a handful of times, preferring to deliver meals away from the camera’s view. Will he stay camera-shy in 2025? We’re about to find out!

Follow the owl family’s journey all season long on Twitter/X (@WildflowerOwls).