2014 Owl Pellet Essentials Guide by OBSCo

Exploring Prey & Predator Relationships

Fun, Affordable & Quality Science for Students of Any Age!

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Thank you for downloading or purchasing this guide. We hope it will enhance your exploration into prey and predator relationships, conservation, and stewardship. Owl Brand encourages the duplication of the guide for educational purposes and you do not need permission to do so. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form for resale purpose or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any informational storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Additional information can be found at our website or by requesting it at: By Email: info@obdk.com By mail to: OBDK.COM PO Box 12604 Portland, Oregon 97212 Printed in The United States of America Copyrighted Material. All rights reserved. ÂŠ1996, 2010, 2014 Owl Brand Discovery Kits, an Owl Brand Supply Co. enterprise.

Owl Pellet Essentials Guide for Teachers and Students. ts Table of Conten .....................4 ............................ .... .... .... .... .... . ... 6 s. ip ersh ............................ Educational Partn ............................ .... .... d.. an Br l Introduction to Ow OWL TO THE BARN .......... Page 8 INTRODUCTION ........................... ... ... ... ... ... TS EC BJ & RELATED SU ...................8 ............................ ............................ .... .... .............. 10 .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ls? Why Ow ........................ .... .... .... .... .... 10 .... .... .... ............................ Which Owls?........ ............................ .... .... ... 13 .... .... .... .... .... . l. .... .... Owls............. Great Horned Ow e Great Horned .. 14 th .... m .... fro .... d .... ne .... ar Lessons Le ........................ .... .... .... .... .... l? ... rn Ow .................... 15 Why Study the Ba ............................ .... .... ns io sit ..... 16 Po e ag ............................ Barn Owl & Vant ............................ .... .... ... 18 ts .... bi .... Ha .... g in .... .................... Nesting & Mat ............................ ... 20 .... .... .... . .... es .... qu .... ni .... ch Hunting Te Owl................... rn Ba rn te es W the Seasonal Prey of .. 21 Together ls Ow t Ou nce!......................... ng pi Hel ct Make a Differe oje Pr OT HO e You and th .......... Page 23 B.......................... LA ON TI EC SS OWL PELLET DI ....................... 24 ............................ .... .... . ts lle Pe l Ow l ...................... 30 The Formation of n to the Barn Ow tio la 31 Re in eb W ............................ Exercise 1 – Food tside? .................... Ou 2 e ...3 th .... on .... t’s .... ha .... .................... Exercise 2 – W 33 e Inside? ............ th .... .... on .... . t’s ts ha ar W – Ch Exercise 3 g Bones to the ching & Mountin . ..............34-39 Exercise 4 – Blea tification Charts en Id ne Bo t Ki ....... 41 y er ............................ Owl Brand Discov ............................ .... n. io et pl m Co Certificate of .......................... 42 ew........................ vi Re ok ..... 46 Bo e— om ................................ Running For H lies Order Form pp Su ls ia nt se Owl Pellet Es

Educational Partnerships! As fun and educational as owl pellets are, we know you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dissect them all year! We, at Owl Brands, would like to introduce you to four great companies with which we do business. Like Owl Brand, these companies are committed to creating quality educational products while mainitaining very high standards. We are in community with these companies and are proud to promote their efforts.

High Touch High Tech. Curt and Heather Moothart have a high standard for excellence and when school lets out, High Touch High Tech is still in, continuing to fuel the imaginations of children in summer camps, after-school enrichment, birthday parties, and special corporate events. You can connect with them at www. sciencemadefundfw.net.

KidzScience is an exciting, hands-on approach to teaching Science to pre-school and elementary school-age kids in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It is run by our good friends Laura and Jet Tilton. Check out their website at www.kidzscience.com and prepare to have fun!

Nature-Watch provides educational nature products and craft activity kits designed to teach children about nature. Since 1987 Nature-Watch has provided environmental science curriculum and nature craft projects to thousands of schools, camps, museums, nature centers, park and recreation programs, zoos, libraries, after-school programs, scouts and many others. View their great product line-up at www.naturewatch.com. Tell them we sent you!

Ward’s Science. Owl Brand has worked with this company since our own founding in 1996. We’re very proud to be their supplier of sterilized barn owl pellets but also realize they may be able to serve you where we cannot. Ward’s Science strives to carry on in the spirit of founder, Henry Augustus Ward, with his infinite sense of wonder and dedication to bringing the natural sciences, innovative technology, complete curriculum activities, and time-saving resources into science classrooms. Ward’s science helps teachers can their students to embark on their own journey of discovery. That’s how it should be, right?

Twitter.com/TheOwlBrand Facebook.com/OwlBrand Connect with Chris Anderson, President at: LinkedIn.com/in/CCAnderson

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Introduction to Owl Brand! It’s Not Poop! Would you believe that this is the most common misconception among children and adults alike when discussing owl pellets? It’s True! As the Owl Brand team promotes the benefits, and fun, of dissecting barn owl pellets, it seems that many people, including teachers, have the same initial reaction—”Gross...owl poop?” But it’s a surprisingly great opportunity to engage with people about the anatomy and unique digestive characteristics of barn owls, why we study them, and how this basic science experiment can lead to fascinating findings. This past year was a remarkable one for Owl Brand. We expanded into more and more schools and science museums. We continued supplying other companies, and even helped other retailers develop their product lines using our products and resources. Another exciting development is the growing use of Owl Brand’s Discovery Guide by universities as part of their teacher training. Additionally, through purchases made by OBDK customers, we were able to give away 15 Finding Funding grants to help under-funded programs include our products in their teaching. Our biggest achievement this year was being selected from more than 65,000 companies as a MultiView Media Good Company. As a result, their mobile production studio showed up at our shop

and spent two days interviewing and filming Owl Brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team to learn what makes our company unique. Look in the back of this guide for more details about this blessing. All of these developments are possible because we have faithful customers who use our products. Many of you return year after year and, for that, our team thanks you. I hope youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll join hundreds of others on our Facebook page where we regularly explore owls, their unique place in ecosystems, and other topics that may add value, fun, and smiles to your classroom. From our hearts to your classroom,

Chris Anderson Owen Anderson President The Shipping Guy Owl Brand Supply Co. Email: chris@obdk.com owen@obdk.com

Tina Ferguson Customer Care & Special Events tina@obdk.com

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Introduction of the Bar n Owl & Related Subjects Why Owls? Throughout time, certain animals have had an iconic presence in literature, mythology and artwork—even in scary stories around the campfire. Predators in particular – be they lions, bears, wolves or owls—have held fascination for people of all ages. We have much to learn about these icons of past eras and even more to learn about their place in our present world. Owl Brands hopes to broaden current understanding of predators through the study of a very important one: the owl. The study of owls can raise awareness of critical issues, such as how we approach wilderness and how we live within nature’s balance. It can also yield practical applications. For example, one recent study, reported in the July 2011 Journal of Vision, used owls as a model to explore the advantages and mechanisms of stereopsis. This stereo-vision is a capability they share with humans. [Source: Owls see in stereo much like humans do, Robert F. Van der Willigen, Journal of Vision, June 2011, Disparity sensitivity in man and owl: Psychophysical evidence for equivalent perception of shape-from-stereo, Robert F. van der Willigen, Wolf M. Harmening, Journal of Vision, January 2010]

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Other more common studies relate to studying owl pellets. These are very important for scientists because when we study the components of the pellet we find the bones of the animals that the owl has eaten. For example, if a scientist finds small rodents and bats, we can learn what kinds of small mice and bats live in the area. If the scientist takes up the pellets of the owl regularly, then he or she can observe the variations of these populations. The growth or decrease of the populations of mice and bats is indicated by the bones in the owlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pellets. Studying the density of these prey animals can reveal critical information about potential pests for farming communities or about diseases that are passed within those communities of animals. Finally, a more accessible lesson, and the subject of this annual publication is the overview of the barn owl in relation to the study of prey and predator relations, the information gathered related to food chains and webs, and the knowledge of regional differences within the same species. In short, dissecting owl pellets can help us develop our investigative skills. These explorations encourage students to develop cognitive thinking skills.

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Which Owls? The most common owl we use for educational opportunities is the Common Barn Owl (tyto alba). There are two good reasons for this. One is the availability of the subject. The Barn Owl lives on nearly every continent and has a comparable diet in all of those settings. Additionally, unlike the Barn Owls’ cousins, they have a unique method of ingesting their prey whole and regurgitating a pellet that is conveniently packaged as a tightly compacted ball of fur, bones, and other material not needed for its nutrition. Their voracious appetite is only matched by eager students wanting to learn about their diet. Another important owl we study, mainly because of it’s habitat proximity to the Barn Owl, is the Great Horned Owl. Great Horned Owls, while equally impressive, do not lend themselves as abundantly to the investigative opportunities due to some physiological differences. But, as we work with students across the world, we find a growing interest in the more challenging study of the Great Horned Owl.

Great Horned Owls If you asked someone what sound an owl makes, most people would say, “Whoo!” And that’s not necessarily incorrect. But the sounds owls make distinguish them as uniquely as their appearances do. For example, a barn owl does not produce a “whoo” but rather a “screech” that has been the source of many mythical stories told on dark, spooky nights. Screech owls, on the other hand, rarely screech but rather have a staccato-like succession of hoots. The Great Horned Owl is known distinctly for it’s “Whoo!” and is one of the most commonly heard owls.

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GREAT HORNED OWL facts... To hear a great selection of owl sounds, Owl Brand recommends visiting Owl Calls & Sounds at this website: www.owlpages/sounds

While the Barn Owl is presence on nearly all continents, the Great Horned Owl is the most common owl of the Americas. It has feather tufts that can sometimes make it cat-like in appearance. These horns, referred to as “plumicorns”, easily distinguish it. Great Horned Owls are considered “adaptable” birds. Their habitats range from suburban areas, to forests, farmlands, and to places where there is an abundance of prey. Their northern family can migrate in winter but prefer to live in moderate climates where they can live for as many as 5 to 15 years. These impressive birds, like Barn Owls, are cavity dwellers by choice, selecting tree holes, stumps, caves. Sometimes they take the unoccupied nest of a barn owl or other large bird. There are instances where our staff has seen a Barn Owl living in one end of a

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large structure and a horned owl at the other end. There are as many instances when we have seen barn owls killed by horned owls. For the most part, horned owls are monogamous, meaning they choose one mate for life. Both parents will incubate their eggs, which can range from one to five eggs, also know as a “clutch”. They are fiercely protective parents and known to attack humans who they perceive to be a threat.

Horned owls share the digestive system that is common to all owls. Similarly, horned owls will consume their prey, which is followed by the regurgitation of a pellet that includes the fur, bones, and other parts of their prey that is not required as nutrition. They are known to prey on a huge variety of creatures, including raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, domestic birds, falcons, and other owls. The Great Horned Owl is the only animal that They regularly eat skunks, and may be regularly feasts on the only animal with such an appetite. skunks! They sometimes hunt for smaller game by standing or walking along the ground. Owls

GREAT HORNED OWL facts... The Great Horned Owl considers other owls and raptors a nutritious part of their daily diet. One bird that likes to give Great Horned Owls grief is the crow. They like to mob owls and attempt to outnumber them. It’s for good reason, too, as crows are tasty morsels for a Great Horned Owl.

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have even been known to prey upon wandering cats and dogs. Because horned owls have a more diverse diet that includes small mammals and larger rodents, they often need to break up the bones of the animal in order to digest it. For this reason, it can be more difficult for the inexperienced eye to identify prey in a Great Horned Owl pellet. Like other raptors, horned owls are efficient nighttime hunters that strike from above and use their powerful talons to kill and carry animals several times heavier than themselves. Great Horned Owls are largely nocturnal so they can be difficult to spot. But in the dark after sunset, or just before dawn, they can often be heard vocalizing with their well-known series of “Hoo hoos!”

Lessons learned from Great Horned Owls Great Horned Owls are terrific survivors. As an apex predator, they have few natural enemies, but observing their habitat and hunting behavior reveals other reasons why they have such successful survival rates. Great Horned Owls are highly adaptable birds in that they will relocate or migrate to ensure their survival, as do most owls. If a forested area is threatened, they will reside in a manmade structure. Many lessons are learned from horned owls by studying their prey and there is no better way to identify prey than by dissecting the owls’ pellets, the regurgitated remains of their diet. Because this particular owl often breaks the bone of its larger prey in order to digest it, they produce a chalky and porous pellet that resembles a grey ice cream cone. When picked it up, it can easily fall apart because the chalky bones hace been crunched up during ingestion. Identifying the prey of the Great Horned Owl is an investigative puzzle. We are working from fragments rather than the entire skeletal bone structure of the prey.

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Why study the Barn Owl? Barn Owls (Tyto alba) have fascinated humans for many generations and for many reasons. From American Indian stories to Celtic myths, the mysterious habits of the Barn Owl have inspired storytellers worldwide. Perhaps you ventured out into the night and heard the banshee-like cry of a hunting Barn Owl; or maybe you’ve been frightened by a shadow falling across your path, which disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Don’t be alarmed. You have probably been a witness to one of creation’s most interesting nocturnal (night) hunters. The Barn Owl is found nearly worldwide in countries with moderate climates. They are plentiful in number, useful in rodent popu-lation control, and a vital member of our ecosystem. Studies of these owls reveal much information to scientists, biologists, and students in the areas of food webs and chains, habitat, and much more. While Barn Owls are creation’s gifts to farmers because they hunt rodents that harm crops,

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they are also gifts to the classroom in that they provide an exciting hands-on approach to learning! One of the most common scientific methods used to study and compare the diets of Barn Owls is owl pellet dissection. Because of the abundance of Barn Owl pellets throughout the world, these are inexpensive educational tools that also contain rich learning opportunities. The Barn Owl’s unique digestive system creates a pellet using undigested portions of its prey. The pellet is then orally expelled. If you find pellets scattered below a tree, look up carefully, you may see an owl roosting (resting on a fixed horizontal object) or nesting!

Barn Owl & Vantage Positions Barn Owls are, by nature, cavity dwellers. Before the construction of man-made habitats like silos, barns, and church steeples, Barn Owls had to navigate the landscape for a safe and advantageous nesting and roosting site. Sites that lend themselves to prime hunting and safety are referred to as Vantage Positions. Notice in the photo of the rock wall at the top of the page the “whitewash.” This is a biologist’s first sign that a Barn Owl may reside here. What makes this type of position ideal for any bird of prey is the way that it sits above an open field or meadow. This field will supply yearlong food for several families of Barn Owls, living in the above rock formation.

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When hiking below these vantage points, keep your eyes on the ground. If you locate a “bone yard” you can probably look up and find a nesting site for owls—in this case, a Barn Owl. And if you look around the base of these rocks, you’re likely to find owl pellets, feathers, bones, masses of fur, and more!

Nesting & Mating Habits of Barn Owls Barn Owls belong to a group of birds known as cavity dwellers. Cavities are defined as holes and caves. When it comes to choosing nesting sites, these owls are not too picky. In a natural setting, they will inhabit tree cavities, crevices between the fronds of palm trees or small caves in cliffs and holes in cut banks. They readily accept artificial cavities as well, and have been found to nest in any snug, quiet enclosure ten feet or more off the ground. These might include rafters, openings between bales of hay, attics and unoccupied rooms in upper stories of buildings. Other suitable nesting sites may be barrels, steel drums, and specially designed nesting boxes. Barn Owls have a particularly short life span, usually from three to five years. They have a tremendous reproduction capacity. In some regions, they have been known to nest year round, raising as many as four clutches (group of hatched eggs). Barn Owls in the most populated areas of the southwest and northwest United States begin selecting nesting sites in December or January. The nesting season is typically from February to May, with peak hatches in April. Occasionally new nests may be started as late as March. By July, most nest sites have been vacated by the young, who have flown to nearby trees or buildings for the final stages of their development. A second nest for the season with the same mate may be started in the same or in a different location. The owls may have different mates during subsequent mating seasons. Males may have two concurrent mates nesting as much as

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a mile apart during a single season if there is a shortage of males in the area. The clutch size varies, and can commonly have as many as eight eggs. As many as 15 eggs have been seen in several nests; and one case in Texas records an extraordinary clutch containing 27 eggs in a single nest box. Even more amazing is that they all survived beyond the juvenile period. The hen (female) lays one egg every two or three days and begins incubating immediately after the first egg is laid. The eggs are incubated for 30 to 33 days each. The chicks hatch in the order in which they were laid, which results in siblings with as much as two weeks age difference between them. During the incubation period, the female remains on the eggs almost continually. She is fed by the male, but nevertheless, loses much of her stored fat. While nesting, the hen often becomes skittish and restless. During this time she is reluctant to leave the nest unguarded. If she is forced to flee in a state of panic and fear, she may abandon the nest. For this reason, it is wise not to disturb a nesting hen during the early part of the breeding season. A parent frightened away from the nest after the incubation period will instinctively return to the nest to continue caring for his or her young. However, inspection of the box during the day in April or May will likely find the young home alone. The parents will be roosting in a quiet location nearby. Having worked all night hunting to feed the hungry chicks, they no doubt want some quiet. While an adult Barn Owl may eat one rodent a night, each chick may eat from two to five, depending on the size of the chick and the size of the rodent. During the course of the breeding season, as many as three thousand rodents and small birds may be consumed by the parents and their family of five young. If all goes well, young owls will have made their first flight to a nearby tree or building at approximately eight weeks of age. At this stage they begin final preparations for life on their own; mastering

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their skills of flying and hunting, while learning how to avoid predators like the Great Horned Owl. The parents continue feeding the young for another four to six weeks. At approximately 18 months of age, the young will begin this reproductive process themselves.

Hunting Techniques of Barn Owls As hunters, Barns Owls are well-adapted creatures. If you are lucky, you might be fortunate enough to see one in flight, but it is doubtful you will hear the flapping of its wings. Unlike the noisy flight of the pheasant, pigeon or duck, their extraordinary light body weight, wingspan, and feathers are unique, designed to render them almost silent in flight. This also allows the owl to keep both tuned in and aligned with the location of its prey as it flies toward it. Mice, shrews, voles, rats, moles, small birds and insects rarely know what hit them when they become the main item on the menu of the Barn Owl. The Barn Owl flies differently when hunting during the daylight hours. This generally happens only when it is feeding its young. While many people believe the Barn Owl is blind during the day, it actually has eyes that are well equipped for diurnal (daytime) hunting. The owl has a muscular iris, designed to respond like an automatic shade or curtain, that allows just the right amount of light to pass through the cornea or window of the eye, then Compared with other birds of prey, the wing tips of an owl are much softer; this enables it to fly silently.

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through a transparent lens and back onto the retina. They have far better eyesight than humans do. With plenty of light, Barn Owls found hunting during the day are able to locate their prey by sight from great distances, and glide in for the kill. Their highly developed sense of hearing, thought to be 35 to 100 times more sensitive than our own, allows the Barn Owl to hunt in

Humans use muscles to move their eyeballs. The large eyes of an owl do not move within the eye socket, instead, the owl rotates its head to observe the world around it, as if it were looking through a pair of binoculars.

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almost complete darkness. They can hear squeaking, scratching or rustling through the dirt, leaves, or grass, pinpoint the location of that sound in a second, and then align their beak (like an arrow) towards the location of their prey. Taking off from a vantage point, the Barn Owl flaps its wings silently, while swinging its feet back and forth. Then, just before its head collides with the ground and the unsuspecting prey, the owl throws its head back, thrusts its feet forward and sinks its razor sharp talons deep into the body of the prey.

Seasonal Prey of the Western Barn Owl Depending on the season, the Barn Owl can have a very diverse diet. Pellets collected in various seasons will produce the bones of some of the animals shown below. There are some animals, such as small rodents, that are present in the diet all year long but other migratory animals and insects only present themselves are prey during certain times of the year. Many of these prey are pests to farmers, so the Barn Owl is a welcome member of most farming communities as they are a natural pest controller. 11

The common Barn Owl has a diet that grows more diverse with the seasonal availabil ity of prey. During Winter months, their main diet consists of voles. By the end of Summe r, food choices include variety of rodents, insects, a broad and even small reptiles. SUMMER

Summer adds a variety of insects to the Barn Owl's diet as bugs feast on crops FALL and other plant life. Mature As creek beds and birds and rodents venture rivers run dry, unique items such as beyond their nests and small fish and crawfish become prey but voles become part of the Barn remain their staple choice, Additionally present Owl's diet. are insects, rodents, small comprising about 80% of their diet. mammals, birds, snakes, frogs, and most commonly voles.

WINTER

Winter is the leanest season of selection for a Barn Owl but because it is an important dietary time in preparation for the reproductive season, voles and winter birds are under constant threat to the effective hunter.

SPRING

During the primary reproducti ve season of Barn Owls, the male hunts and brings an abundant choice of food including small mammals, rodents, birds, and that Spring is also a reproducti insects. Being ve season for many species, small juvenile mammals such as skunks are a delicacy.

Common Prey of the Western Barn Owl Key

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1. Vole 12. Sparrow 2. Mouse 13. Moth 3. Rat 14. Lady Bug 4. Centipede 15. Mole 5. Beetle 16. Grasshopper 6. Red-winged 17. Rabbit Black Bird 18. Muskrat 7. Arctic Tern 19. Skunk 8. Caterpillar 20. Cricket 9. Chickadee 21. Perch 10. Bat 22. Crayfish 11. Squirrel 23. Gopher *This illustration is only part of the Barn Owl's diverse diet. Dissect owl pellets to add to your own list!

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Helping Out Owls Together You & The Hoot Project make . a difference! Conserving Owls: Cause and Effect Owl conservation has many beneficial aspects and outcomes. A sustained and focused conservation program promotes good stewardship, good farming practices, and it is good fun! The Helping Out Owls Together Project, affectionately known as, The HOOT Project, is the perfect program allowing you to make a difference. 1. Good Stewardship. As responsible citizens of our respective communities, we are entrusted to be good mana0gers of our resources. Encouraging species survival is part of this important responsibility. Helping owls by providing nesting boxes offers barn owls protection from natural predators. This encourages healthy numbers of barn owls, Nature’s most effective form of natural pest control. 2. Good Farming. Helping owls thrive promotes sustainable farming practices and helps out farmer’s bottom line costs. The cost of pesticides increases every year and adds expense to efficient farming techniques. Nesting boxes encourage strong barn owl communities, which prey on rodents, insects and a variety of other pests that are harmful to crops. This saves farmers money and removes the need to use potentially harmful pesticides and chemicals. We can all agree, this is a win-win for everyone. 3. Good Fun. Building nesting boxes is a great project for students, campers, scouts, or other community groups wanting to participate in good ecological stewardship. The process of building a nesting box and finding a suitable location for installation fosters a sense of responsibility in young people and ensures future generations of environmental stewards.

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Where would I hang a Nesting Box? Barn Owls like to be undisturbed and hidden from the view of humans and predators. If the owl can hide, it can easily become accustomed to almost any type of activity or noise and often will quietly observe human activity. Owls seem to prefer perching on wood rather than metal or stone. Well-used roost places are almost always where the owl can stay completely dry during wet weather. Given a choice of perching places, a barn owl almost always perches at least 10 feet above ground level. Good locations to hang boxes include high in trees on the edge of a hay or open field, in the high reaches of a barn, on the inside of a hay barn or shed, or on the outside of a structure facing an open field. Good luck! The HOOT Project is a great way to plug into great outcomes. Whether supporting a nesting box program in the areas the HOOT Project is working, or starting your very own HOOT project, our collaboration is making a difference. Learn more about The HOOT Project today at www.TheHOOTProject. org or at www. obdk.com. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Helping Out Owls Together!

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Exploring Prey & Predator Relationships

Owl Pellet Dissection Lab

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ts The Formation of Owl Pelle

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1 Proventriculus

4 Pancreas

2 Ventriculus (gizzard)

5 Intestines

3 Liver

6 Cloaca 7 Vent

8 Kidney 9 Heart 10 Lungs

ÂŠ 2 011 O w l B r a n d D i s c o v e r y K i t s . A ll r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . R e p r o d u c t i o n p e r mi s s i o n f o r e d u c a t i o n p ur p o s e s o nl y a n d n o t f o r r e s al e o r c o m m e r c i al u s e w i t h o u t s p e c i f i c p e r mi s s i o n .

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Owl pellets are a product of the unique digestion system of birds. Owls and other birds cannot chew their food as many animals do. They have to swallow their smaller prey whole and tear larger prey into pieces. An owlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s food travels directly into their digestive system.

Bird stomachs consist of two parts. The first part is the glandular stomach or

proventriculus,

which produces enzymes, acids, and mucus that begin the process of digestion.

The second part is the muscular stomach, called the 2

ventriculus, more commonly called

a gizzard. There are no digestive glands in the gizzard. In birds of prey, the gizzard is useful as a filter, holding back insoluble items such as bones, fur, teeth and feathers.

The softer parts of the birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diet are ground by muscular contractions, and allowed to pass through to the rest of the digestive system, which includes the 5 small and large intestine. The 3

liver

and 4 pancreas secrete digestive enzymes into the small intestine where the food is absorbed into body as energy.

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At the end of the digestive tract (after the large intestine) is the 1

Cloaca (klo-A-ka), a holding area for Uric acid,

also know as Urea. Urea excretions are the white bird droppings we see on buildings and below perches. This form of excretion helps minimize water loss.

The cloaca opens to the outside by means of the 2

vent. Several hours after eating, the indigestible parts (fur, bones, teeth & feathers that are still in the gizzard) are formed into a pellet the same

shape as the gizzard. This pellet travels up from the gizzard back to the proventriculus where it can remain up to ten hours before being gagged up.

Scientists have concluded that the pellet remains in the bird’s system until all the nutrition has been absorbed into the bird’s system. Typically, an owl will not eat more prey until it has emptied it’s system of the previous meal. If they do eat more, that food will be compacted into the previous remains. For that reason, pellets can range in size from under an inch to as many as four inches, and contain up to 4 to 5 prey!

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How does the Owl Expel the Pellet? When the owl is ready to gag up the pellet, it will turn its head at an angle or to the side and open its beak. Owls will often close their eyes and the facial discs will narrow. They rarely leave their perch during this process. Stretching its neck, the owlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beak opens wide and the pellet pops out with little fanfare.

Owl Pellet

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Owl Pellet Dissection Lab Barn Owl pellets have been chosen because these owls swallow small rodents and birds whole, and the resulting pellets generally contain the complete skeletons of their prey. Pellets begin forming within the digestive tract of an owl as soon as the prey is swallowed. Enzymatic juices break down the body tissues in the prey but leave the bony materials and hair or feathers undigested. Depending upon the prey eaten, the undigested portions may include beaks, claws, scales, or insect exoskeletons. This type of material has little nutritional value and must be “gagged” from the system. Predatory mammals such as bobcats and wolves have teeth to grind up bones and claws, and a digestive tract adapted to pass these ground parts. Owls, on the other hand, do not have teeth for grinding and cannot pass whole bone and claws through their digestive tract safely. Instead, these materials form a pellet that is surrounded with the hair or feathers of the prey consumed. The pellet is then orally expelled, or gagged, and the owl begins feeding again.

You will need the following items in order to conduct a Barn Owl Discovery Kit Pellet Lab: OBDK Bone Identification Charts Pencil Clean sheet of paper Two probes Tweezers Magnifying glass Paper towels Antibacterial wipes White glue Tub of water diluted bleach

To To To To To To To To To To

aid in prey identification record findings place extracted bones on loosen fur from bones extract bones away from fur identify bone type absorb excess water sanitize work station secure bleached bones to bone chart whiten extracted bones

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Scientists and teachers take advantage of this unique process by collecting these pellets and examining their contents. Since owls are not very selective feeders, these pellets can be used in a variety of instructional settings. The contents are a direct indication of what an owl has fed on. A one-year study of a particular Barn Owl revealed the following diet: 1,407 mice, 143 rats, 7 bats, 5 young rabbits, 375 house sparrows, 23 starlings, 54 other birds, 2 lizards, 174 frogs, 25 moths, and 52 crickets.

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Constructing a Food Web Animals that eat other organisms for energy and growth are called consumers. There are three consumer levels found in a food web: primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary consumers are usually herbivores; they feed on photosynthetic products such as grass and seeds. Secondary consumers gulp down primary consumers. And tertiary consumers (carnivores) devour secondary consumers and are usually found at the top of the food chain. Here is an example of a food web including the Barn Owl.

Exercise 1: What other carnivores and herbivores would you add to the food web? Listing these others, construct a food web, with the Barn Owl at the top.

ÂŠ 2 011 O w l B r a n d D i s c o v e r y K i t s . A ll r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . R e p r o d u c t i o n p e r mi s s i o n f o r e d u c a t i o n p ur p o s e s o nl y a n d n o t f o r r e s al e o r c o m m e r c i al u s e w i t h o u t s p e c i f i c p e r mi s s i o n .

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What’s on the Outside? Before you dissect the pellet, examine the outside of the pellet for clues to where it was gathered. Pellets are collected from a variety of places around the country. Use the chart below to see if you can determine where the Barn Owl might have gagged your pellet.

What you might find: Milo Seeds → Grain → Dirt → Hay or Straw → Feathers → Pine needles →

Where owl gagged the pellet: Open sheds Grain elevator Cut banks and under trees Barns and hay sheds Man-made nesting boxes Under evergreen trees

Exercise 2: 1. On your piece of paper, write down the clues that might indicate where your pellet was gathered. 2. Can you identify other items stuck to the outside of the pellet?

© 2 011 O w l B r a n d D i s c o v e r y K i t s . A ll r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . R e p r o d u c t i o n p e r mi s s i o n f o r e d u c a t i o n p u r p o s e s o nl y a n d n o t f o r r e s al e o r c o m m e r c i al u s e w i t h o u t s p e c i f i c p e r mi s s i o n .

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Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on the Inside?

Exercise 3: Label a clean sheet of paper for each pellet you dissect, for example, pellet one, pellet two, etc. Note: If you find that the pellets do not come apart easily, you can soak them in warm water to soften them.

Using the probes provided, begin to loosen the hair of the owl pellet. As bones are uncovered, carefully remove them using your tweezers and place them onto a properly labeled sheet of paper. Take extra care to keep skulls intact and near the mandibles (see Owl Brand Discovery Kit Bone Identification Charts). Continue to extract bones from the hair of the prey. Once you have found all the bones, you can begin identifying them by comparing them to the illustrations on the charts provided.

ÂŠ 2 011 O w l B r a n d D i s c o v e r y K i t s . A ll r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . R e p r o d u c t i o n p e r mi s s i o n f o r e d u c a t i o n p ur p o s e s o nl y a n d n o t f o r r e s al e o r c o m m e r c i al u s e w i t h o u t s p e c i f i c p e r mi s s i o n .

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Bleaching & Mounting the Bones to your Owl Brand Bone Identification Charts

Exercise 4: 1. Keep the bones from each prey item separate by setting each set onto a separate clean (labeled) sheet of paper. 2. Place the bones into a tub of diluted bleach to whiten them. (Bleaching is Optional) 3. After the bones have been cleaned, set them onto a separate dry paper towel. 4. Using a magnifying glass and the Owl Brand Discovery Kits Bone Identification Charts, try to identify the type of skeleton that was found in your owl pellet. 5. Use white glue to attach the bones to the correct Bone Identification Chart.

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BIRD

CLAVICLE

MANDIBLE

SKULL (top view) ULNA FEMUR

FIBULA RADIUS TIBIO TARSUS

SCAPULA

PELVIS

HUMERUS

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MOLE

Scaparus orarius

MANDIBLE

CLAVICLE

FIBULA

HUMERUS SKULL (top view)

TIBIA FEMUR PELVIS

SCAPULA

© 2 011 O w l B r a n d D i s c o v e r y K i t s . A ll r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . R e p r o d u c t i o n p e r mi s s i o n f o r e d u c a t i o n p u r p o s e s o nl y a n d n o t f o r r e s al e o r c o m m e r c i al u s e w i t h o u t s p e c i f i c p e r mi s s i o n .

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MOUSE Microtus

CLAVICLE

SKULL (top view) SKULL (side view)

FEMUR

FIBULA

RADIUS

TIBIA

SCAPULA

ULNA

HUMERUS PELVIS

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RAT

Microtus CLAVICLE

SKULL (side view)

FEMUR

FIBULA RADIUS TIBIA

SKULL (top view)

ULNA

HUMERUS

SCAPULA PELVIS

© 2 011 O w l B r a n d D i s c o v e r y K i t s . A ll r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . R e p r o d u c t i o n p e r mi s s i o n f o r e d u c a t i o n p u r p o s e s o nl y a n d n o t f o r r e s al e o r c o m m e r c i al u s e w i t h o u t s p e c i f i c p e r mi s s i o n .

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SHREW

Sorex vagrans

MANDIBLE

CLAVICLE ULNA RADIUS SKULL (top view) HUMERUS

TIBIA FIBULA

FEMUR PELVIS SCAPULA

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VOLE

Microtus

CLAVICLE

FIBULA

TIBIA

MANDIBLE SKULL (top view)

RADIUS HUMERUS

ULNA

FEMUR PELVIS SCAPULA

© 2 011 O w l B r a n d D i s c o v e r y K i t s . A ll r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . R e p r o d u c t i o n p e r mi s s i o n f o r e d u c a t i o n p u r p o s e s o nl y a n d n o t f o r r e s al e o r c o m m e r c i al u s e w i t h o u t s p e c i f i c p e r mi s s i o n .

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NOTES:

ÂŠ 2 011 O w l B r a n d D i s c o v e r y K i t s . A ll r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . R e p r o d u c t i o n p e r mi s s i o n f o r e d u c a t i o n p ur p o s e s o nl y a n d n o t f o r r e s al e o r c o m m e r c i al u s e w i t h o u t s p e c i f i c p e r mi s s i o n .

Owl Pellet Essentials Guide for Teachers and Students.

Recognizes:

Student Name

Date

For the completion of the

Owl Pellet Dissection Lab Teacher

Grade

School

www.obdk.com ÂŠ 2 011 O w l B r a n d D i s c o v e r y K i t s . A ll r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . R e p r o d u c t i o n p e r mi s s i o n f o r e d u c a t i o n p u r p o s e s o nl y a n d n o t f o r r e s al e o r c o m m e r c i al u s e w i t h o u t s p e c i f i c p e r mi s s i o n .

Proudly Presents: Running For Home

Education is not for the timid. It is rarely the impartation of our knowledge or a citation of our credentials, although we each are tempted to choose that approach. More commonly, effective education is the ability to inspire and engage our students and compel them to become an actual part of “Theetymology the story. The howling of theof eduis the voice of my bro wind thers.”of cation includes Auth expressions or Unknown breeding and rearing up; early forms of education, before written word, involved imitation as a central tool of passing knowledge to future generations.

Running for Home

Can you find the hidden animals in this book, including the two on this cover?

by Gail McDiarmid &

Marilyn McGee

Illustrated by Durwood Coffey

At Owl Brand, we want to celebrate those who we think do it well. Being an educator requires something from each of us that transcends cultures, fashion, trends, and instead embraces the timeless skill of storytelling. When stories are told with distinct traits of humility, contagious enthusiasm, and a purposeful result–a moral, the story can become a life lesson that remains in our consciousness. When I first met authors and sisters, Gail McDiarmid and Marilyn McGee, I knew they shared our concern for the complex issues facing our future in effective ecology stewardship. I met them through the

introduction of their engaging book titled Running for Home. That introduction resulted in an invitation to present at the 2013 Summer Celebration we co-host each summer in Idaho. They traveled from the across the country to Idaho where their goal was to present Running for Home, a book that tackles the story of ecology through lovable characters Chinook the wolf, Wapiti the elk and the hilarious raven Mochni. The outcome was my outright adoption of their important message and their contagious enthusiasm. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m excited that Gail and Marilyn will return to help us reach more children with their great message and fun style of teaching, inescapably central in the book.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so privileged to recommend this fantastic book. Gail and Marilyn were so very kind to let Owl Brand participate in their creative journey through the talents of our graphic artist and friend of ecology, David Winfield. The story is compelling, but just as important, these sisters work with a depth of compassion and conviction--not just for the real life subjects depicted by their characters but also for the audience. When a well-told story and young minds come together, the result can be profound. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an investment I can get excited about.

I hope youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll consider it for your classroom.

Happy Reading!

Chris

Running For Home (excerpt)

young elk stands dangerously close to the edge of a deep gorge cut by the roaring Lamar Rive r in Yellowstone National Park.

“Wapiti!” screams the elk’s mother as Every spring as the snow melts, the she runs to her son. Suddenly, the ground rivers of Yellowstone rush over the barren collapses beneath his spindly legs and landscape leaving huge crevices and Wapiti plunges into the raging river. ditches. Hundreds of elk graze in one Gasping for breath, he surfaces, but the area and consume the river-loving woody water pulls him back under. The thirtyplants, especially the cottonwoods and five pound youngster is on the verge of willows, rarely allowing their tender being swept away. He kicks and jumps shoots to grow tall. The elk’s sharp, pointfrantically and finally makes it safely to ed hooves trample the roots which would the debris-covered embankment. have helped to anchor the soil and slow “Son, are you hurt?” his mother cries, down seasonal runoff. The absence of nudging him up the bank to dry ground. one keystone species in the Yellowstone As he shakes the water from his tawny ecosystem contributes to this problem. brown coat, she says, “You have to stop But that is all about to change. Missing wandering away.” for over seventy years, the elk’s primary “I’m sorry, Mom. I just wanted to see predat or has returned to teach little Wapiwhat was down there.” ti and his herd how to run. The movement “Rivers are dangerous places for of the elk away from the rivers will allow little elk,” his mother says. the vegetation to grow, restoring the health of the riverbanks. Renewed again, the timeless agreement between these two animals will help to sustain life in the valley.

clues. recap those Now, Let’s ystery animal: The m

“What wa screams s that?” Mochni.

like...Wind 1. Sounds through g lin w ho the trees en eyes 2. Has gold “I don’t know,” exclaim s Chinook .

his food 3. Shares rs with othe k on the 4. Keeps el move

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Prey & Predator Relationships with

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Find additional resources on our website at www.obdk.com. Choose from a selection of books, videos, online guides, and more. Additionally, join Owl Brand Discovery Kits on by searching for our name and joining the community to stay up to date on the most current events and news about the subject of dissecting, teaching, or gathering owl pellets for education. Owl Brand Supply Company is a Wyoming corporation and complies with all state and federal laws and health codes. For more information, visit us online or call 877-570-3405.

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