Athena has Left the Nest!

Finally, Athena has left the nest! For the last week she has been quite active. Lots of wing flapping and interest in all the people that walk by the nest. So I knew it was only a matter of time before she flew the coop. I headed over this morning to check on her. I looked in the nest and it was empty! Now I was excited and also a bit aprehensive. Could I find her? I've always found the others when they left the nest but there are lots of places she could hide if she wanted to. I quickly found Sonny sitting in a branch over the creek.

So I figured she was close by and he was watching over her. I spent the next 20 minutes searching everywhere for her. I was just about to give up. I was standing looking up at Sonny when I was guided to look to my right. Ha! There was Athena barely 5 feet away and staring at me. Sweet! She totally recognized me as there was no puffing up like the other owlet I found last week. I was very honored that she was comfortable with me so close to her.

I decided to give her some space, so I walked over to the lake and back. When I got back she had moved onto a branch which was much better for photos.

She was quite active and climbed up onto a vertical limb. How cool is this! She is holding on with just her talons...amazing!

Finally she made to the top of the limb.....

Then the little dare devil ventured out onto a small limb....

While she was climbing around, Sonny had flown across the path and settled into a nearby tree where he could still see her.
As I was watching Athena, I caught a glimpse of something flying in. I thought it was one of the parents but it was a cooper's hawk. And he landed very close to Athena.....

Well, within a nano second momma Cher flew in and perched near Athena. If the coopers hawk had any intentions of hurting Athena, he'd have to deal with Momma Cher!

The coopers hawk was a smart guy and he soon flew off....
Athena continued exploring. She ended up on too small a branch and fell to the ground. Well, she didn't really fall as she spread her wings and floated down to the ground.

She seemed a bit confused as to what had happened....

But she got her bearings and tucked into a safe spot to take a nap.

Momma Cher stayed close by and caught a nap too.......

What an amazing morning! Now the next chapter begins as Athena learns to fly and catch her own food. This will take all summer, so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!