What do owls eat?

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What do owls eat?

• This science experiment explores habitat and
  behaviors of owls.

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Contents

• Appearance
• Food Requirements
• Habitat
• Raising Young
• Trivia and Interesting Facts
• Description of Experiment

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Appearance

• Owls have keen night vision. Their large eyes
  allow them to see at a wide range ,at a great
  distances, and in low light .
• Owls can turn their heads 270 degrees -- thats
  almost all the way around!
• Some owls can turn their heads completely
  upside-down at 180 degrees .

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Food Requirements

• Large owls eat rabbits , skunks and rats and
  young deer.
• Small owls eat insects and mice. They also eat
  small birds, fish , frogs and worms .

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Habitat

• Owls live in forests ,deserts , and even jungles.
  They can even live in the tundra.
• Owls can live anywhere except Antarctica, and
  Alaska.

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Raising Young

• Chicks usually hatch two days apart.
• The oldest chick grows up to be the strongest,
  because it gets most of the food.
• When food is scarce, only the oldest chick gets
  enough to survive.

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Trivia and Interesting Facts

• Owls have no fear when it comes to protecting
  their young. They swoop to attack anything
  that disturbs their nest.
• Some small owls rely on woodpecker nests for
  their homes.

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Description of Experiment

• Students dissected owl pellets to discover the
  type of animals eaten.
• They matched the bones to a sorting chart.

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The Experiment

• We traveled to the Raptor Center in Charlotte to
  watch live owl.
• The gift shop had displays of owl eggs.

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At the Gift Shop . . .

• There were owl pellets and contents on display.

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While we were looking around . . .

• a stuffed Great Horned Owl stood on the wall.

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Learning more in the Gift Shop . . . .

• These are owl feet.
• Look at the talons.

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More on display . . . .

• This is an owl skull.

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Looking at owls . . . .

• This is a Barred Owl.

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Viewing more owls . . . .

• This is a Great Horned Owl.
• He doesnt look happy, does he?

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The Actual Experiment . . . .

• Chantel introduces owl vocabulary.

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Everyone needs a tray . . . .

• Dustin distributes the materials.

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Waiting to dissect . . . .

• The students wait patiently while Chantel
  explains the experiment.

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Ready . . . . Begin!

• Everyone puts on a glove and gets ready to
  dissect.

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Owl dissecting . . . .

• The pellet has been soaked.
• The students tear apart the hair to reveal the
  bones.

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Gee . . . Ive found one!
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Check the bone chart . . .
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Look . . . Heres a leg bone!
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Look closely and you can see teeth!
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This is like a treasure hunt!
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The bones were dried and sorted.
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Credits

• We would like to thank the Raptor Center in
  Charlotte for presenting information about owls
  to the research team.
• The owl pellets were acquired from the Raptor
  Center.
• This project was made possible by a teacher
  mini-grant from Gaston County schools.