Nevada Department of Wildlife wraps up livestream of Reno owls

The Nevada Department of Wildlife wrapped up its popular internet broadcast of a Reno great horned owl nest Monday with a happy ending fans are sure to love.

The second of two owlets successfully fledged from the window sill nest at the Desert Research Institute. The live webcam that broadcast the birds’ unusual origin story has since been switched off.

“For those following along with the great horned owls that have been living at our Reno campus this spring: both young owls have left the nest and are doing great!” DRI announced in a Twitter post Monday. “Both owls have been observed eating well, and the parents are still active in the area and engaging with the owlets frequently.”

The institute and the wildlife department switched on the webcam on March 15 to let people watch the rare sight of two female great horned owls nesting side by side and co-parenting their chicks.

Officials from the two agencies said they wouldn’t be able to provide any additional updates on the owls as they travel farther and father away from the nest.

“Thank you to everyone who watched and helped share this remarkable story,” the post from DRI said.

The livestream on YouTube drew hundreds of viewers from around the world, earned more than 2,200 “likes” and sparked lively chats in the message board associated with the broadcast.

There were still about 20 people watching the stream Tuesday morning, even though the screen was black.

DRI and the department of wildlife said birdlovers looking for something new to binge-watch can check out the Audubon Society’s bird cams page at https://www.audubon.org/birdcams for more live nest feeds.

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.