Woman hears 'coyote' outside — but finds a wide-eyed wild baby instead

Earlier this month, Katrina Niesen was about to take her dog, Luna, for a morning walk when loud, threatening sounds from her porch stopped her in her tracks.

“We heard hissing and clacking. I was extremely scared and thought it was a coyote — they live in our neighborhood,” Katrina told The Dodo. “I bolted back into the house, left Luna [inside], then cautiously went back out to investigate.”

There was a wild animal on her porch — just not the one she feared.

Slowly reopening her front door, Katrina realized the visitor was actually a baby owl. As she peeked out, she could see him staring back at her, wide-eyed and surprised.

“He's a spicy little guy!” Katrina said. “He hissed and clacked his beak very loudly at us to tell us he was now the boss of our porch.”

The family had been aware of two adult owls living in the neighborhood, but they evidently had a baby who’d grown enough to begin napping outside their nest during the day.

Katrina named him Little Hootie.

“It brought us so much joy,” Katrina said.

Katrina, also known as The Sourdough Mama, is famous for her beautiful 3D bread art creations on Instagram. But the baby owl’s visit was so special she departed from her usual content to share word of him with her followers:

Little Hootie remained safely on Katrina’s porch for about three days while his parents regularly came to check on and feed him.

“We could see him through our sliding glass doors while we worked, and it felt so special and calming. Like we were truly babysitting,” Katrina said.

Katrina was so smitten by Little Hootie that she even decided to make one of her artful 3D loaves of bread in honor of him.

“I've always been an owl fan,” Katrina said.

Little Hootie’s parents continue to guide him as he matures into independence, so he’s since taken to mostly resting elsewhere.

“We saw him practice flying and take a nap in a tree,” Katrina said.

Sightings of Little Hootie have grown less frequent, but the days they observed him up close on their porch are something Katrina and her family will never forget.

“It was so exciting and magical!” Katrina said.