Owls are a Hoot

Harper and I did a Mommy School this week on owls.  There are a lot of fun facts to learn about owls!  It was a quick lesson, but we had fun and were able to involve some of the neighborhood kids in one of our activities.

    

  

Harper was impressed that owls can turn their heads 270 degrees!

   

We played a game of guessing which animals owls eat.  Harper was shocked to discover that larger owls will eat smaller owls if they are hungry enough.  She was correct that owls do not eat elephants, dinosaurs or dogs.

     

   

We made owl masks to learn about owl vision.  Owls are unable to move their eyes which is why they use their head rotation to see around their body.  They have fourteen cervical vertebra in their neck compared to the seven that humans have!

   

We learned about the lifecycle of owls from egg to owlet to fledgling to adult. 

  

Harper was horrified to learn about owl pellet formation.  They eat their pray head first, swallow it down to the first stomach where enzymes breakdown the meat and then the bones and hair become a hard pellet that is regurgitated.  

   

After this gross discussion, we made owl cupcakes.

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

The following day, we actually dissected owl pellets.  It was cool!  Harper found two different mice in her pellet.  She did a great job identifying the bones with her cheat sheet.

  

   

  

One of the skulls!

   

   

The neighbors came over to dissect some of our additional pellets.  They thought it was the coolest thing ever!