Owlet hatches on camera, not on cue

It took a few more days than expected, but the first owlet at Hayward’s Sulphur Creek Nature Center finally cracked through its shell and made its way into the world.

At 10:35 p.m. Tuesday night, one of the eggs in the owl box was seen by SFBay wiggling violently while mama was away momentarily. Then, just as she re-entered, a foot emerged from the egg.

Mama promptly snuggled in on top of it, while papa came and went, possibly excited, possibly retrieving food for his newborn offspring.

The fresh, wobbly owlet can be seen several times in the attached video, still only minutes old.

The owlets had been expected to hatch over the weekend, but apparently needed a bit more time to get things just so.

Congratulations to the owl family and to the Nature Center! You can watch the webcam to see the new baby or maybe even one of the next eggs hatching.

I need a cigar.