A library in our area had the local Raptor Rehabilitation center come and hold a special educational session. They talked about raptors and passed around things to read or look at. They answered questions. They talked about how they rehabilitate the birds and about how many they help each year.
The kids got to dissect an owl pellet. They provided an information paper to help them identify the bones found in their pellet.
The people from the center were available to chat or help with the dissection.
Each pellet had a different colour. It depended on what colour the fur of the animal they ate was. Austyn's was grey. The bones were different sizes. Most of them were mice, we think. One boy at Austyn's table had really small mouse bones, suggesting that the mouse was a baby. Austyn had a clear jaw bone and all of the teeth mixed in with his bones. That was probably the most interesting part that he found.
Austyn and I were not surprised by the small size of the raptors they brought because we read what birds they planned on bringing and knew right away that they were small. We have been reading about raptors for years now and have been on field trips relating to that subject. We also use to follow hawks and other animals in our area. We still try to, but it's not as easy being in the area where we live. This cute little owl is an Eastern Screech Owl.
This is my favourite bird. It's an American Kestrel. This one is a female. I like the colours on the male better. They are beautiful birds!
We brought home his bones glued to a piece of black paper, the information sheet, pamphlet, a couple more pellets (I'm not sure how Austyn convinced them to give him those, but he did), and a couple of books that we've not read yet. One of our cats found the bones from the pellet interesting! LOL!!
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