It's been 24 hours since Altera left the nest. Why she hasn't returned, we can only guess. She and Mr. Tiger remained on rooftops throughout yesterday evening, all night, and through this morning. Unfortunately, she has yet to return to the eggs.

Last week, Altera laid two previous eggs. She laid on each briefly, only to leave it for an extended period of time in temperatures in the teens and twenties, causing both eggs to freeze and crack each time. Both times, though, she returned and disposed of the eggs.

While these two present eggs have not cracked, nor have they likely frozen since temps only dipped below freezing for a short period of about an hour, it is likely they are at this point non-viable.

We humans cannot always predict or fully understand nature, whether we like it or not. For those saying Altera is an unfit mother, that may be true by human standards, but the original Mrs. Tiger also had two seasons of unsuccessful eggs, abandoning both times, prior to Season 1 of the OKC Owl Cam. This is not unusual in the world of Great Horned Owls when the mother is young and inexperienced, as is suspected of Altera by our go-to GHO experts who have been tuning in.

While this is sad news, and difficult to watch, the reality is that what little time we had to watch and learn about Altera Tiger is a tremendous and surprising gift, considering just a couple of months ago we believed the days of Tiger nests, let alone at our house and on camera, would be no more.

Our philosophy at the OKC Owl Cam has always been to learn through merely observing, even when circumstances may not be ideal or easy to witness. Therefore, the stream will remain on at OKCOwlCam.com for at least the next 24 hours, or until we see a conclusion regarding our two eggs.

As we await what is likely the final views of Season 5, we ask that you'll keep an open mind about Altera, and join us in looking forward to seeing her flourish into a successful matriarch of the next several generations of Tiger clutches with Mr. Tiger, just as her beloved predecessor Mrs. Tiger did. It is our hope that we'll be back for Season 6 to see that happen.

With love,

Alessondra & The Clicks

PS - Remember, while the Facebook Live stream isn’t always streaming, you can tune in any time at OKCOwlCam.com, where you can both view the live stream and join us in chat.