A Visit From the Owl Man
This past week in Room 8 we had a visit from a special guest, well, four special guests actually! A representative from Bird's Acre (in Ellsworth, ME) came in and brought three feathery friends with him. At Bird's Acre, they take in birds that have been injured and help them recover so they can be released back into the wild. The owls we met were extremely well-mannered. There was a Saw-Whet Owl (the smallest guy who was in an accident that caused him to lose one eye), a Great Horned Owl, and a Barred Owl. Each had a story of their own. The kids were in awe (as was I) in the presence of these gorgeous creatures, and the speaker, Grayson, had an abundance of knowledge about birds of prey and many interesting trinkets to display. To learn more about Bird's Acre and their incredible work, check out their website here.
This past week in Room 8 we had a visit from a special guest, well, four special guests actually! A representative from Bird's Acre (in Ellsworth, ME) came in and brought three feathery friends with him. At Bird's Acre, they take in birds that have been injured and help them recover so they can be released back into the wild. The owls we met were extremely well-mannered. There was a Saw-Whet Owl (the smallest guy who was in an accident that caused him to lose one eye), a Great Horned Owl, and a Barred Owl. Each had a story of their own. The kids were in awe (as was I) in the presence of these gorgeous creatures, and the speaker, Grayson, had an abundance of knowledge about birds of prey and many interesting trinkets to display. To learn more about Bird's Acre and their incredible work, check out their website here.
After Grayson left, the kids wrote him thank you letters explaining their favorite things about his visit.
The next day, we dissected owl pellets. The kids were so pumped. I was sick at the beginning of the week it so it had to be postponed, and the build-up made it that much more exciting. First, we talked about the process of digestion and regurgitation that occurs after an owl eats its meal. Then, we watched a video of an owl spitting up a pellet. It got a little silly because, well... you can see for yourself.
Watch it here (start around 25 seconds in) --- We turned down the volume because it was irrelevant (people chatting).
Weird, huh? I'm sure you can imagine the different observations that were made by the second graders... Afterward, I handed out a lab sheet and had the kids put on their invisible lab coats. They told me they felt like real scientists, and they were! They filled in their predictions on their lab sheets and then I handed out the pellets. All of the pellets were sanitized beforehand, but a few of them chose to wear gloves anyway.
Tons of tiny bones!
A few of them found skulls of mice, rats, voles, moles, shrews, and birds!
Here are some of their other findings:
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