Guess Whooo

I have powerful talons. 

I have a strong, sharp beak. 

My head can turn 270°. 

I am the only raptor who hunts at night. 

Who am I?

Click here to see if your guess is correct!

Our class was very fortunate to have been offered a presentation on owls by Max's dad.  This was such a wonderful opportunity that tied in with our nocturnal unit and allowed us to compare owls with bats.  Mr. Boutilier brought in a mounted Great Horned Owl and owl pellets for the students to dissect. 

  The students learned that owls have super powers!

• Their strong, sharp beak and powerful talons tear meat.  Or, owls swallow their food whole.  They do not have teeth.  
• An owl's hearing is so good, it can hear a little mouse up to 75 feet away and can even hear other animals under snow!
• An owl's silent wings help them to fly without being heard by their prey.
• Students also got their questions about owls answered.  We learned owls do not use echolocation.  Instead, owl ears are offset.  They hear something in one ear and then a split second later, they hear it in the other ear.  This tells the owl how far away its prey or an object is.

We also learned owls eat animals such as frogs, snakes, bats, mice, and birds.

Since they cannot digest the fur and bones of their prey, they cough them up in pellets.  Each pellet contains one animal.

Children were eager to become scientists and dissect the Great Horned Owl pellets.  They had their science tools - magnifying glasses, tweezers, and toothpicks - to help them.  After carefully picking out the bones, partners worked together to determine what animal those bones belonged to by matching them up with a diagram of their prey's bones.     

   The children found this lesson fascinating and were excited they got to take the bones home to share with their families.

Thank you, Mr. Boutilier, for teaching us about owls and allowing us the opportunity to be observant scientists! If you would like to learn more about Mr. Boutilier's summer camp, check out this website: http://www.bgcl.org/#!creighton-pond/c9ld