Fifth-graders at CES had some serious studying to do on Halloween: they learned about owls, how they adapt, and reconstructed the owl’s meal.

 

Students learned all about owls and the way they adapt to their environment. Owls have no teeth and must swallow their prey whole. They fly silently – they’re the only birds of prey with silent flight, adding to their capability of being stealth hunters. Their sense of smell is not the best. However, their hearing and sight are exceptional, allowing them to hunt at night. Owls can hear low-volume sounds up to 10 miles away.

 

 

Owls eat rodents. The bones and beaks of rodents offer very little nutrition and are regurgitated into an owl pellet. Each fifth-grader received an owl pellet to dissect. The pellet contained the bones of a rodent eaten by the owl. The students removed the bones from the pellet, studied them, comparing them to a chart with commonly-eaten owl prey to identify them. In some cases, the students were able to reconstruct the rodent by placing the bones on a chart.

 

A very interesting and cool project for these curious kids.