Once upon a time, in a forest not-too-far away, there lived a little family of great horned owls. There was mama owl, and papa owl, and two baby owls (called owlets), and they all lived safe and happy high, high up in a tall, tall tree. Mama and papa were good parents. They brought lots of good things for their babies to eat, and the baby owls grew fast and strong.
As the owlets grew bigger, the nest became smaller, and the young owlets had to move around more and more to get comfy. One day, we don’t know how it happened, but one little owl fell out of the nest, and dropped down, down, down to the forest floor below. Owlet was smart. She stayed very still, but was found by Dave M., who called Soarin’ Hawk and, because her home nest was well hidden and couldn’t be found, Dave learned how to make Owlet a new nest in a close-by tree, where mama and papa continued to bring her lots of good things to eat, and she continued to grow fast and strong.
One day, Dave was checking on Owlet, and – oh, my goodness! – there she was on the forest floor again! And very close by, also on the ground, was her brother! Both were still too young to be alone on the forest floor, and Owlet’s wing looked droopy, so volunteers Bill & Sue brought both babies to the doctor, where Soarin’ Hawk learned the sad news that Owlet had a broken wing that had healed badly, so she would never be able to fly. Her brother was fine, and found a friend and room-mate in another orphaned great horned owlet at Soarin’ Hawk’s bird hospital. Owlet’s brother and his friend will be taken care of by Soarin’ Hawk and, once they learn to fly and to catch their own food, they will be released back to the wild.
But what will become of Owlet?
Some months ago, several months apart, Soarin’ Hawk was shocked and sad when both ambassador great horned owls, Apollo and Zeus, died. They both had personalities as big as the sky, and the great sadness of their loss is still felt today. When Soarin’ Hawk found out that Owlet would never fly, they applied for and received permission to train her to be an ambassador bird – one that teaches humans about owls and the natural world. Owlet went to live with Barb H., who helped her grow accustomed to humans and being handled, and gave her lots of owl-y toys to play with, to help make her life interesting and make her think and learn things and have fun.
But Owlet needed a real name.
To honor Apollo and Zeus, it was decided that Owlet’s name would come from Greek mythology. Several mythical names were narrowed down to four, and Soarin’ Hawk’s volunteers voted. Then, on May 25, 2020, Owlet had her very own virtual baby shower, with lots of people watching on the internet, and lots of wonderful owl-y gifts, including a mouse cake made by Mary, a presentation of educational jesses by Pam, and enrichment items made by Soarin’ Hawk’s enrichment team, presented by Emily. Finally, the balloon that contained the scroll with her new name was popped and, magically, she was no longer Owlet.
She was ATHENA!
Athena will have a life-long home with Soarin’ Hawk. She will be loved and cared for and will play an important role in educating the public about owls and the environment.
(In Greek mythology, Athena is Zeus’ favorite daughter, and Apollo’s half-sister. She is the goddess who oversees wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. Athena is often portrayed as companion of heroes and is the patron goddess of heroic endeavors.)
