See Previous Post for Background
Owlet Update: Muppet on the Move
Muppet, a precocious young Great Horned Owl with an adventurous spirit, was recently treated for minor injuries at Tamarack after falling 100’ from her nest in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park. Thanks to a dedicated team-including Pittsburgh City Park Rangers and Foresters, as well as TWC staff and volunteers-Muppet was reunited with her family on March 11!
Muppet spent her first night back in an artificial nest, but true to her bold nature, she soon decided to explore her surroundings. For a six-week-old Great Horned Owl, “branching” is completely normal, as owls begin testing their balance and coordination before they learn to fly.
By day two, following her return, she was perched on a branch near her artificial nest. By day three, Muppet had come down to the ground and made her way over to a hillside near one of her father’s roost trees. While being on the ground can be normal for a “branching age” Great Horned Owl, it can be a hazardous location so one of our rehabbers was sent to give her a quick exam-but Muppet had other plans! She had climbed up a steep embankment and safely tucked herself into an inaccessible crevice. A visual check by our staff confirmed she was alert, upright, and vigorous.
Since then, experienced volunteers have been keeping a close eye on her, and on March 14 and 15, welfare checks found her 30’ high in a tree, perched confidently on a branch-just as a young Great Horned Owl should be! At night, she is heard calling back and forth with her parents, who are locating her by sound to deliver meals.
Muppet seems to be getting as close as she can to her owlet sibling who is still in the nest under Panther Hollow Bridge. By about 9 weeks of age, she should be flying well but will remain with her parents through the summer, until they encourage her to disperse in September or October.
until they encourage her to disperse in September or October.
“So, Muppet, have you thought any more about a job?”
<3 Tamarack Wildife Center!
“I’ve been thinking about taking a year off to really find myself, maybe in those pines over there. Maybe work on my novel about my adventures after I left the bridge.”
I’m glad we’ve gotten so many updates about her!
I find this particular picture of her to be an almost human face, like seeing the eyes of someone wearing a mask.
Yeah, that facial disc being grown in and not the rest of the face floof makes the face look like it’s behind a layer.
The ends of the flight feathers being the final color also makes it look like it’s wearing a shawl or cape, adding to the costumed look.
