Outdoor Hour - Owl Study

Last week, I watched as the weather reports showed two storm systems heading toward the northeast.  The meteorologists were predicting they would converge and the result would be a blizzard.  I knew that this likely meant that my older son, who is now in public school, would have a day off.  For us, a day off from public school means a day off from homeschool (just try and get the homeschooled one to work when the other one isn't)!

But, there are some homeschool activities that do not seem like work and I managed to slip those in on the snow day.  First, knowing that teenage boys like to eat, I suggested we make cupcakes that look like little owls.  (The idea came from an old  Family Fun Magazine.)  I baked the cupcakes the night before the storm.  My son made the icing and frosted all the cupcakes the day of the blizzard.  Then the two of us did the decorating.  Lots of silliness as we chose the color for the owl's eyes (the one on the bottom right looks a little zombie-ish).

Later that afternoon, we used the computer to watch a really fascinating show on PBS's Nature called Magic of the Snowy Owl (one sad part may upset little kids).  It was comical to watch the owlets as they first spread their wings - and landed on their face.  Those little guys ate a lot and kept their parents busy.  Initially, the mother had to give them small chunks of food, but it wasn't long before the babies were able to gobble down whole lemmings!  The parents' concern for their young was evident and very touching.  What magnificent birds!

This week, we dissected some owl pellets that were left over from our biology studies last year.  We used the bone chart and the rat skeleton to identify what we found.  It seemed like each pellet contained at least two rats/mice.  My son's pellet contained two easily identifiable skulls while mine contained one, but seemed to have many more mandible pieces and parts of pelvises.

After dissecting the pellets, we read the section in Owl Puke about how the pellets are actually formed.  We learned that owls have two stomachs. The first stomach has acids and enzymes that break down the food, and mucus that helps move everything including bones and fur into the second stomach.  The second stomach has powerful muscles that both grind up the meat and wad all the indigestible stuff into a pellet.  This pellet will then move back to the first stomach and be regurgitated.

To wrap up our owl study, we compared owl feathers with those of other birds.  Owls are unique in that they are able to fly silently.  The reason for this can be seen when looking at the edges of their feathers.  An owl feather is fringed along its edge.  (See this side-by-side comparison of an owl and a hawk feather.)  The fringes break up the turbulence over the wing and allow for silent flight.

I'm hoping we can find a Owl Prowl hike to join in the next month or two.  The barred owl mating season occurs over the next two months and is a good time to hear the signature "who cooks for you" call.

Oh, by the way, we got at least two feet of snow during the storm!

Outdoor Hour Challenge at Handbook of Nature Study.