In this YouTube video, photographer Don Orkoskey chronicles the rehabilitation, release, and ongoing observation of Muppet, a Great Horned Owl owlet, and her family in Pittsburgh's Schenley Park. After Muppet fell from her nest and was cared for at Tamarack Wildlife Center, she was returned to the park on March 11th. Don documents her movements, behavior, and development over several weeks, noting key milestones such as fledging, coping with weather, and learning to hunt. The narrative interweaves personal anecdotes, encounters with other photographers and birders, and practical photography advice—covering composition, timing, and identifying the banded owlet. Don also reflects on the ecological context of Great Horned Owls, including predator-prey dynamics, territorial habits, and the challenges of photographing nocturnal raptors during daylight. The video concludes with observations of Muppet’s first flight attempts and a hopeful outlook for future sightings.
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This is the story of how I began to document Muppet, the baby Great Horned Owlet, and her family.
Hey, it's Don at WDO Photography. I'm in Pittsburgh's Schenley Park, and I want to show you a Great Horned Owl owlet.
I wanted to give you another update on Muppet, the Great Horned Owl.
Hey, it's Don at WDO Photography, and I'm here on vacation with her parents. Muppet fell out of her nest, was rehabbed by Tamarack Wildlife Center, and returned to Shenley Park on March 11th. Since then, I've been visiting periodically to document her story. Yeah, I came down the second day she was back and she was like down on the log that was like right by the trail. Are you kidding? You got some pictures? But there were like dozens of people just staring at her. Yeah. So the next day I came down and she was not still there. Kind of understandably. And looked for her for like an hour. So I am right in the area where she was yesterday. And folks I had talked to the night before showed up and I was like, I can't find her, but maybe 6 eyes are better than 2. Maybe we'll find her. We, um, we went back and we looked all around and we're just standing there talking and then— and she's just tucked into the hillside. Overnight, Muppet moved to the other side of the bridge where she hopped and climbed the hillside and up a large tree. Here she was safer, harder to see, and harder to photograph. But Muppet wasn't the only owl attracting attention. Her sibling was still in the nest, and mama was providing this baby. Not all the cuts are for me. Probably my favorite day with any of these owls was this day. It was rainy, it was cold, but the park was empty and I got to watch mama feed the sibling. It was just such a magical experience to be there. I've been waiting for this moment. And I think the rain really added to it, just the sound of it falling all around me, watching it bounce off my hat, off my equipment. It was really special. Once Muppet's sibling was old enough and fledged, they left the nest, meaning there wasn't any reason for the parents to return. While Great Horned Owls are predators, they're also susceptible to being preyed upon, which makes staying in the same spot kind of dangerous. That said, the adults don't leave the general area, both because it's their territory and because the fledglings need to learn how to hunt before they themselves can move on. One evening, I found a few other photographers who'd found Muppet. She was once again far away from where I had last seen her. She had survived a hailstorm and was facing down some very strong winds, but her massive talons were helpful in keeping her on the branch, though it's important to remember that at this point she's only around 9 weeks old. A lot of times birds will poop Just before taking off. That wasn't the case here with Muppet. In fact, she sat there for another several hours. We all left once the sun went down.
Sun is setting. I've had a bit of luck today, but. Not as much as I would have liked to have. I think that's how that goes, I guess.
There's always tomorrow to come back and see these beautiful creatures and spend more time out here in the woods enjoying nature and what have you. Great horned
owl baby right there. Uh-oh, she just opened her mouth. Oh, that was so cute. Wait, that's a call, isn't it? No. I see it.
It's been several weeks. Muppet continues to move around the park. She's losing the fluff that helped her survive the end of winter. And as the buds turn into leaves, she's going to become harder and harder to spot. Yeah, they're so close. She'll also be able to soar higher and further. As she and her siblings learn to fend for themselves, they will eventually move on and find new ground and partners of their own.
I was just higher up and behind a tree, but to mom, who was to my right, I don't think they saw me. I'm thinking
I heard mom. I'm not sure. Just found Muppet and her sibling. In addition to Muppet and her family, I've had The incredible pleasure of meeting a wide variety of other photographers, birders, and nature lovers. Well, I teach, so yeah, I get, you know, that's, that's a question that I ask my students, like, what is your goal? Like, what do you plan to do with them? Oh, you teach photography? Mm-hmm, yeah.
Oh my gosh, I would totally do a class.
One thing about photographing owls is that because they hunt at night, they typically don't move while the sun's up. Which means that they're sitting very still, providing you with a chance to work on your composition and look for other places with which to photograph them, like I've done here by framing them out with these 2 trees.
Okay. Can you tell which one's Muppet?
I can't. Muppet, I believe, is banded on her left leg, but they didn't band the other one, understandably.
It's beautiful.
It's perfect. It's really— it's like the perfect branch. There's that little, like, you know, big collection of, like, dead leaves right there next to them.
I know, perfectly posed.
Uh-huh. We're losing the golden, huh?
Yeah, it changes
They're
opening their eyes more. Uh-huh. At least the one. I wonder what time they do get fed. Do you know?
It's like those first 2 days when she was returned, um, right at 7 o'clock as the sun was setting, Papa like flew overhead And went and landed up here. I was just about to pack up and go.
I had actually left my spot and had walked up to the trail. The other folks I was with had already actually left and gone down the trail when I saw one of the fledglings take off. So I quickly set my camera back up and got ready for the second one to do the same. She hesitated, and I actually have about 3 full minutes of her looking all around, bobbing her head, thinking about it, flexing her wings, stretching out, before she eventually did take flight. Get ready for it. Here it comes.
And with that, I'm gonna call it a day here. So, I wanna thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe. Leave me a comment and let me know what you liked, and I'll see you next time. Thanks so much. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
