The awesome thing about learning how to dissect owl pellets as a homeschool project is that everyone can participate. Rachel and I were just as intrigued as Gracelynn was when it came to picking the owl pellets apart. She was excited to show her sisters when they got home, and saved them each a pellet so […]
Students in this lesson will investigate owl pellets to determine an owl’s prey using a bone chart. Students will gain a basic understanding of owls as predators.
I have fond memories of many lessons in elementary school, but one of the shining highlights was the day us kiddos were each given an owl pellet to dissect. The ugly little grey-brown lumps, the size and shape of stuffed grape leaves, looked a whole lot like any number of small critter scat one might discover on the forest floor, and while they were indeed evidence of wild digestive systems at work, poop they were not. Along with our pellet, we were given tweezers and microscopes, and it didn't take much prodding before squeals traveled the room, for each and...
Owl pellets are the undigested parts of an owl's food, regurgitated (coughed up through the beak). Watch a video of a Barn Owl regurgitating an owl pellet.
In this image and information-rich version of OBDK's Barn Owl Discovery Guide, Kidwings takes us to the next level of understanding of barn owls and their Habitat, Habits, & Prey. This publication is popular with teachers in schools, at home, and in the wild! Learn about barn owls and then find all the information needed to dissect a barn owl pellet like a pro! Best thing? Downloads are free to teachers. Learn more about owls, wolves, bears, and more at kidwings.com. Get your barn owl pellets at www.obdk.com.
I have fond memories of many lessons in elementary school, but one of the shining highlights was the day us kiddos were each given an owl pellet to dissect. The ugly little grey-brown lumps, the size and shape of stuffed grape leaves, looked a whole lot like any number of small critter scat one might discover on the forest floor, and while they were indeed evidence of wild digestive systems at work, poop they were not. Along with our pellet, we were given tweezers and microscopes, and it didn't take much prodding before squeals traveled the room, for each and...
The Owl Pellet Bone Chart Printable is a valuable educational resource that allows students and nature enthusiasts to explore the fascinating world of owls and their incredible digestive systems. This printable chart provides an organized and detailed representation of the various bone types found in owl pellets, helping users identify and learn about the different prey species consumed by these magnificent birds. Whether youre a curious student or a passionate bird watcher, this chart is an excellent tool for studying and appreciating the intricate relationship between owls and their prey.
These FREE Owl Printables go along well with the owl pellet dissection activity or with your study of forest animals. You'll find them free here...
We had a blast doing an owl pellet dissection - very interesting! Now, we want to share what we learned with you all, along with a FREE printable lab sheet.
The Owl Pellet Bone Chart Printable is a valuable educational resource that allows students and nature enthusiasts to explore the fascinating world of owls and their incredible digestive systems. This printable chart provides an organized and detailed representation of the various bone types found in owl pellets, helping users identify and learn about the different prey species consumed by these magnificent birds. Whether youre a curious student or a passionate bird watcher, this chart is an excellent tool for studying and appreciating the intricate relationship between owls and their prey.
Owl pellet facts & video: Find out all about Barn Owl pellet dissection and how to analyse the contents.What is a Barn Owl pellet? - a 4 minute video with David Ramsden from the Barn Owl T
Owl pellets are commonly dissected by students to learn more about what owls eat. Owl pellets are full of bones from the animal the owl…
Learning about owls is great fun, especially when it comes to learning about food. They will swallow their food whole, bones, fur and all and then later puke up the undigested goodies in small little "owl
WE DID! Very glad to have state testing done, and now it is back to work. Well, sort of. We have four days of testing, with Friday free. Each year, my collegues and I have always done owl pellet dissection on the Friday after testing. This year was no different, and the kids loved it. Remember my big yellow bulletin board that was a literacy bulletin board turned math bulletin board? Well, today it turned science bulletin board and looked like this: Full of bone charts! We used these while dissecting our owl pellets. We began by watching a Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs segment with Mike Rowe on how owl pellets are collected. It's a pretty funny and informative intro to the activity that's only about ten minutes long. Plus, the teacher gets to look at Mike Rowe for a bit! ;-) For the activity, the kids get an owl pellet, two to a pellet, and then they take it apart while completing a lab sheet full of observations and questions. The pellet below really freaked out a few of my friends as there was a big bone sticking out of it. Here's one unwrapped. A bit icky! At least that is what many of my friends thought. Notice anything funny about the lab sheet? Yeah, I really do have to remind them to not taste the owl pellet. For a group of kids who, every year are without fail a bit freaked out at the start of the activity, they quickly get so involved that this becomes a necessary reminder. So, on to the dissecting! Can I just take a moment here and point out how the day of an elementary school teacher is so varied? Unlike middle school and high school where you generally stick to one subject, we elementary teachers have to do it all! Before testing we were working on algabraic equations, formulas for volume, learning how to craft a five paragraph essay that has quality content and tension, and now today I'm knee deep in rodent bones! No offense to my middle and high school teachers, but ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS ROCK! After my friends had completed the lab, we had about an hour left until dismissal. We used that time to make some teaching posters about owl pellets. I gave my friends free reign. The only rule was the poster had to TEACH something about owl pellets and not just look nice. It was also a way for me to use up some very bright flourescent poster board I had. All in all, I would say Owl Pellet Day was a great success. One of my friends even wore this shirt today! Sadly, this is the last year we will be doing them. The unit it relates to in our science curriculum was deleted this year. We were allowed to do the dissection because we had already ordered the pellets prior to knowing the curriculum was revised. Now, we really focused on physical science. If you have an interest in owl pellets without the mess, there is a great site called Kid Wings that has virtual owl pellet dissections. It begins with a great teaching lesson on owl pellets, an owls digestive track, and more. Then it lets you dissect pellets from a variety of different types of owls. It's fun without the funk! So, what did you do today?
Get a free e-book of our top ten science experiments and enjoy owl pellet dissection activities for kids with a free bone sorting chart.
Almost everyone has dissected at least one owl pellet in their elementary school science class, now it may be time to share this fun ac...
OWL PELLET AND ENERGY PYRAMID LAB Online · You will need a camera for this lab. · Main heading for your post: Owl Pellet and Energy Pyramid Lab · Subheadings: Part 1 Owl Pellet Dissection, Part 2 Ecological Pyramids · See what to submit under each part. You will only work with one pyramid in Part 2. Objectives 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of science and the scientific process. 2. Classify animals according to type of skeletal structure. 3. Identify bones that compose the skeletal system. 4. Trace the flow of energy through the trophic levels and energy pyramids. 5. Explain how organisms interact within an ecosystem and how owls affect an ecological community. 6. Demonstrate analysis of data to produce visual results and written explanations. 7. Perform calculations to determine patterns. 8. Demonstrate collaborative skills. Introduction Owl pellets are the undigested remains of prey ingested by an owl. The owl swallows its prey whole, and during the process of digestion, the soft parts of the prey are dissolved and passed on to the intestine for absorption. The hard, non-digestible parts-bones, teeth, fur, feathers, and chitonous remains of insects are compressed in the gizzard and passed on to the proventriculus, the first chamber of the owl’s stomach, where the pellet remains until it is expelled. These pellets are not eliminated as feces, but are regurgitated through the mouth. The Common Barn Owl feeds in early morning and early evening and will usually produce one to two pellets per day. Glossy black when fresh, the pellet remains smooth and dark in color when dry. Your pellet has been fumigated to eliminate the presence of any insects and then individually wrapped for preservation. Unless otherwise stated, the pellets in this lab are from the family Tytonidae and more specifically, the Common Barn Owl, Tyto alba. View this video to learn more about owls and pellets, http://youtu.be/JdrbSzC6Jcg. View these slideshows to learn more, http://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/infopage.html?Id=193. Safety 1. Be careful with sharp tools and bones. 2. Wash hands after activity. Materials Owl pellet Camera Dissecting surface Scale Bone sorting charts Other small tools, as supplied Glue Sheet of plain paper or cardboard for mounting bones Part 1 Owl Pellet Dissection · What to submit for this part: o Table 1 (1 points) o Photo of chart with sorted bones (2 points) o Photo of reconstructed skeleton (2 points) o Table 2 (1 points) o Graph of species numbers (2 points) o Comments about other species found Procedure 1. Remove the pellet from the aluminum foil. 2. Measure the length and width of the pellet and record these measurements in Table 1. Table 1. Owl Pellet Measurements Length 1 5/8” Width 1” 3. Place the pellet on the dissecting surface. Carefully separate the bones from fur or feathers onto another part of your surface using your fingers and available tools. 4. Carefully clean the bones by picking or scraping off debris and sort them according to type—skulls, jaws, vertebrae, etc. 5. When you are sure that all bones have been separated, dispose of the other materials in the trash. 6. Identify the animals found in your pellet by matching the bones in your pellet with those in the Bone Sorting Chart. 7. Place each bone beside the matching bone on the Bone Sorting Chart.. You may have many of each type of bone sorted and glued or just a few. 8. Take a photo of your chart with the sorted bones. 9. Reconstruct a partly complete skeleton of one prey animal. Glue the parts on a sheet of paper and take a photo. I could not figure out how to do the ribs or the pelvis with what I had 10. Record the types and numbers of animals in Table 2. Table 2. Kinds and Number of Animals Found in Owl Pellets No. Voles No. Shrews No. Birds No. Moles No. Rats Your Data 1 11. Make note of any other species you can identify. I can only make out one type of animal from this owl. The bones collected were that of a rodent, but with the sharp upper and lower front teeth I can only assume a rat. 12. Construct a bar graph of the data in Table 2, using the grid below or another source. Part 2 Ecological Pyramids The amount of energy or matter in an ecosystem can be illustrated by a drawing called an ecological pyramid. In this activity you will construct three types of ecological pyramids, a number pyramid, a biomass pyramid, and an energy pyramid. Each pyramid you construct will consist of four trophic levels. The top of each will relate to your owl, the only tertiary consumer (3o). The next level down will relate to the owl’s prey, the secondary consumers (2o). For the purposes of this activity, assume the prey found in the owl pellets are secondary consumers. The next trophic level down will relate to the organisms eaten by the owl’s prey, the primary consumers, (1o). The base of each pyramid will relate to the organisms eaten by the primary consumers, the producers. Use the information obtained from your owl pellet dissection to construct the ecological pyramids below. A. Energy Pyramid for a Trophic Level. · Only students with last names starting with Q through Z perform this part. · What to submit for this part: o Drawing or depiction of your energy pyramid. You may not copy and paste someone else’s pyramid. (5 points) o Calculations for number 2 and 3. (2 points) o Answer questions 1-5 (5 points) An energy pyramid is an ecological pyramid that indicates the amount of energy in each feeding level. According to the terms of thermodynamics, only about 10% of the energy available within one trophic level is transferred to organisms at the next trophic level. 1. Assume that the producers in this pyramid (plants) contain a total of 500,000 Calories of food energy. Draw an energy pyramid and label the base with this value. 2. Calculate the amount of energy for the 1˚ consumers by multiplying the food energy of the producers by 0.10. Write this value in your pyramid. 3. Complete your energy pyramid by calculating and labeling the energies for the top two trophic levels. Assuming that the barn owl regurgitates one pellet per day, how many prey items would the owl that produced your pellet consume per year? Based on the owl pellet I had this owl is trying to watch her figure as there is only 1 mammal. If an owl is eating 2 times a night that’s only 370 rodents per year. Which is also the amount of pellets this particular owl produces. Answer these questions. 1. Where does the pellet remain until it is expelled? The pellets remain inside the owls stomach until the owl is has digested all the nutrients it needs. 2. List 6 other birds that are known to regurgitate pellets. Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Owls, Kestrels, American Goldfinch, and swallows. 3. Placing the owl at the highest trophic level, create a food web using the following items: vole, deer mouse, mole, house mouse, weasel, shrew, snake, starling, frog, salamander, spider, grubs, earthworms, centipedes, crane fly, seeds, plants, roots. 4. Why does the number of organisms decrease as you move up the pyramid level? Because there are fewer prey then there are predator. The predators are doing their job to maintain balance and the pray is doing their job to maintain them. 5. We know that about 50% of the energy in an organism is not digested by the consumer and is simply passed through as waste or feces. Is the energy stored in the feces lost to the ecosystem? Why or why not? No the energy stored in the feces is not lost. The energy, one way or another, gets consumed or is biodegradable to fertilize the plants around it. The insects that feed on the fecal matter also have access to it, then in turn is eaten by a bigger bug or a bat or another insect eating creature and so on.
The Owl Pellet Bone Chart Printable is a valuable educational resource that allows students and nature enthusiasts to explore the fascinating world of owls and their incredible digestive systems. This printable chart provides an organized and detailed representation of the various bone types found in owl pellets, helping users identify and learn about the different prey species consumed by these magnificent birds. Whether youre a curious student or a passionate bird watcher, this chart is an excellent tool for studying and appreciating the intricate relationship between owls and their prey.
