Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return ...
p.1 #1Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
I visited the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center yesterday morning and my timing was perfect, as the female GHO they have affectionately named 'Athena' had returned for her annual nesting. Yesterday was her first day back in the nest and they expect her to lay eggs within the next day or two. She has been returning to this nest for 12 years to hatch and raise owlets.
What is really cool is that Cornell Lab - 'All About Birds' has a live cam set up so you can watch her in real time -- here is the link:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/wildflower-great-horned-owls/
Anyway, here is a variety of shots and subjects I captured yesterday.
Greg
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#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
What is really cool is that Cornell Lab - 'All About Birds' has a live cam set up so you can watch her in real time -- here is the link:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/wildflower-great-horned-owls/
Anyway, here is a variety of shots and subjects I captured yesterday.
Greg
#1
OM-1MarkII OM 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 II +MC-14 lens 293mm f/8.5 1/640s 2000 ISO +0.3 EV
#2
OM-1MarkII OM 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 II +MC-14 lens 560mm f/10.0 1/125s 800 ISO +0.3 EV
#3
OM-1MarkII OM 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 II +MC-14 lens 560mm f/11.0 1/640s 4000 ISO +2.7 EV
#4
OM-1MarkII OM 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 II +MC-14 lens 560mm f/11.0 1/640s 2500 ISO +2.3 EV
#5
OM-1MarkII OM 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 II +MC-14 lens 308mm f/11.0 1/320s 3200 ISO +1.7 EV
#6
OM-1MarkII OM 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 II +MC-14 lens 560mm f/9.0 1/500s 2000 ISO +2.7 EV
#7
OM-1MarkII OM 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 II +MC-14 lens 560mm f/9.0 1/640s 2500 ISO 0.0 EV
#8
OM-1MarkII OM 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 II +MC-14 lens 280mm f/8.4 1/250s 1250 ISO 0.0 EV
#9
OM-1MarkII OM 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 II +MC-14 lens 454mm f/8.9 1/500s 1000 ISO 0.0 EV
Mar 05, 2026 at 10:35 AM
p.1 #2Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
Hi Greg,
What a nice treat seeing Athena so well. We saw here when we visited yet not this good. The gardens are wonderful and easy to do in less than a day. It's nice seeing the flowers in your photos, my bulbs are just starting to leaf out.
Morris
What a nice treat seeing Athena so well. We saw here when we visited yet not this good. The gardens are wonderful and easy to do in less than a day. It's nice seeing the flowers in your photos, my bulbs are just starting to leaf out.
Morris
Mar 05, 2026 at 12:45 PM
p.1 #3Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
morris wrote:
Hi Greg,
What a nice treat seeing Athena so well. We saw here when we visited yet not this good. The gardens are wonderful and easy to do in less than a day. It's nice seeing the flowers in your photos, my bulbs are just starting to leaf out.
Morris
Thanks Morris! Glad you got to visit the gardens and see her. The 'live cam' is a real treat because it is such an elevated view -- I'll be checking it daily to see her progress. Actually, right now the gardens are fairly sparse due to the last hard freeze and the drought we're going thru. I'm planning a return visit after she has her owlets, when she and her mate are more active, and after Spring has really shown up in the gardens.
Greg
Hi Greg,
What a nice treat seeing Athena so well. We saw here when we visited yet not this good. The gardens are wonderful and easy to do in less than a day. It's nice seeing the flowers in your photos, my bulbs are just starting to leaf out.
Morris
Thanks Morris! Glad you got to visit the gardens and see her. The 'live cam' is a real treat because it is such an elevated view -- I'll be checking it daily to see her progress. Actually, right now the gardens are fairly sparse due to the last hard freeze and the drought we're going thru. I'm planning a return visit after she has her owlets, when she and her mate are more active, and after Spring has really shown up in the gardens.
Greg
Mar 05, 2026 at 01:47 PM
p.1 #4Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
'Tis good to see the greening of Spring, Greg!
Douglas
Douglas
Mar 06, 2026 at 10:28 AM
p.1 #5Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
douter wrote:
'Tis good to see the greening of Spring, Greg!
Douglas
Thanks Douglas.
If you haven't yet, you need to click on the 'Owl Cam' link I posted and take a look live at 'Athena'. I actually got to watch her lay her first egg yesterday while on the phone talking to my daughter. :-) I'm not sure if she's laid a second egg, but I suspect she has.
Greg
'Tis good to see the greening of Spring, Greg!
Douglas
Thanks Douglas.
If you haven't yet, you need to click on the 'Owl Cam' link I posted and take a look live at 'Athena'. I actually got to watch her lay her first egg yesterday while on the phone talking to my daughter. :-) I'm not sure if she's laid a second egg, but I suspect she has.
Greg
Mar 06, 2026 at 11:25 AM
p.1 #6Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
Very cool on the owl shot and the story of longevity of the nesting site!
Such beauty in #7 and 8, both are wonderful Greg.
Great capture on the dainty white flowers #9
Thanks for the cam-link on the owl
Karl
Such beauty in #7 and 8, both are wonderful Greg.
Great capture on the dainty white flowers #9
Thanks for the cam-link on the owl
Karl
Mar 06, 2026 at 01:35 PM
p.1 #7Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
Karl Witt wrote:
Very cool on the owl shot and the story of longevity of the nesting site!
Such beauty in #7 and 8, both are wonderful Greg.
Great capture on the dainty white flowers #9
Thanks for the cam-link on the owl
Karl
Thanks for the comment, Karl!
The live cam is cool. I got to watch her lay her first egg yesterday -- that's a first for me.
Greg
Very cool on the owl shot and the story of longevity of the nesting site!
Such beauty in #7 and 8, both are wonderful Greg.
Great capture on the dainty white flowers #9
Thanks for the cam-link on the owl
Karl
Thanks for the comment, Karl!
The live cam is cool. I got to watch her lay her first egg yesterday -- that's a first for me.
Greg
Mar 06, 2026 at 04:40 PM
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p.1 #8Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
Lovely set
Birdie
Birdie
Mar 06, 2026 at 06:04 PM
p.1 #9Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
Thanks, Birdie!
Greg
Greg
Mar 06, 2026 at 07:08 PM
p.1 #10Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
Pretty cool set Greg. Love the owl, land great variety of other subjects.
John
John
Mar 08, 2026 at 07:31 AM
p.1 #11Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
gmccroskery wrote:
I visited the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center yesterday morning and my timing was perfect, as the female GHO they have affectionately named 'Athena' had returned for her annual nesting. Yesterday was her first day back in the nest and they expect her to lay eggs within the next day or two. She has been returning to this nest for 12 years to hatch and raise owlets.
What is really cool is that Cornell Lab - 'All About Birds' has a live cam set up so you can watch her in real time -- here is the link:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/wildflower-great-horned-owls/
Anyway, here is a variety...Show more →
I need to go check her out one of these days! It made all the local news. Great shots.
I visited the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center yesterday morning and my timing was perfect, as the female GHO they have affectionately named 'Athena' had returned for her annual nesting. Yesterday was her first day back in the nest and they expect her to lay eggs within the next day or two. She has been returning to this nest for 12 years to hatch and raise owlets.
What is really cool is that Cornell Lab - 'All About Birds' has a live cam set up so you can watch her in real time -- here is the link:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/wildflower-great-horned-owls/
Anyway, here is a variety...Show more →
I need to go check her out one of these days! It made all the local news. Great shots.
Mar 10, 2026 at 09:44 PM
p.1 #12Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
johnohio wrote:
Pretty cool set Greg. Love the owl, land great variety of other subjects.
John
Thanks John, much appreciated!
Greg
Pretty cool set Greg. Love the owl, land great variety of other subjects.
John
Thanks John, much appreciated!
Greg
Mar 11, 2026 at 09:17 AM
p.1 #13Visit to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -- including the return of 'Athena', the GHO
thedutt wrote:
What is really cool is that Cornell Lab - 'All About Birds' has a live cam set up so you can watch her in real time -- here is the link:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/wildflower-great-horned-owls/
Anyway, here is a variety of shots and subjects I captured yesterday.
GregI need to go check her out one of these days! It made all the local news. Great shots.
Thank you, Aditya. I've been checking the 'Owl Cam' pretty regularly, and she is sitting on two eggs. This morning over coffee I grabbed this screen shot close up of her -- she looks pretty wet from the storms last night -- and not too happy about it either!
Greg
gmccroskery wrote
I visited the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center yesterday morning and my timing was perfect, as the female GHO they have affectionately named 'Athena' had returned for her annual nesting. Yesterday was her first day back in the nest and they expect her to lay eggs within the next day or two. She has been returning to this nest for 12 years to hatch and raise owlets.What is really cool is that Cornell Lab - 'All About Birds' has a live cam set up so you can watch her in real time -- here is the link:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/wildflower-great-horned-owls/
Anyway, here is a variety of shots and subjects I captured yesterday.
Greg
Thank you, Aditya. I've been checking the 'Owl Cam' pretty regularly, and she is sitting on two eggs. This morning over coffee I grabbed this screen shot close up of her -- she looks pretty wet from the storms last night -- and not too happy about it either!
Greg
Mar 11, 2026 at 09:22 AM