One of the newest residents at The Clover STL apartment community in Olivette is Madam Owlberta Wobblewings. The great horned owl has taken up residence on the balcony of an apartment rented by Jewish St. Louisans Rebecca and Zach Berg, who named the bird. The owl and her mate chose the Berg’s apartment after searching for suitable lodging.
“They started scouting the area in December,” said Rebecca Berg. “The male would drop by and leave us pieces of food, like a rabbit leg and a rat. One morning, I asked Zach if he left us any ‘gifts,’ and sure enough there was an egg. Owls lay eggs every two or three days until their clutch is complete. There were three total and one of them hatched.”
Now baby Owlivia Newton-John calls the balcony home, or at least a wooden planter where she waits for her parents to bring back food. It’s somewhat unusual for owls to cohabitate this close to humans, so the Bergs have kept a respectful distance.
“It’s extremely uncommon—she must have trusted us,” Rebecca said. “We started seeing her out there more often, we would put the curtain down to give her some privacy. I’m sure that probably had something to do with her staying.”
Zach had his bar mitzvah at United Hebrew Congregation, Rebecca at Traditional Congregation. The couple has always been interested in wildlife. They both grew up with exotic pets and enjoy visiting the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park. But they never expected to have a close-up and personal view of a family of owls. That may only last for a few more weeks until baby Owlivia can fly.
The Olivette owls have now become social media darlings, Berg said. “I’ve been posting photos on social media and I’ve heard from people that I haven’t talked to in 20 years that are following along.”
