Paul, from Birds of Prey Discovery, came to nursery today. We brought Flo, the barn owl who is 15 years old and Pip, the little owl, who is 8 years old.
The children were able to get up close to the owls and see their feathers, features and even some owl pellets! Because of their sharp talons the children weren’t able to hold the owls, but some of the grown-ups could. When the parents arrived, they were able to meet an owl and take some lovely photos with their children. The parents were just as excited as the children!
At circle time, Paul taught us lots of interesting facts about the owls. Owls are birds of prey because they catch their prey with their talons (feet). Barn owls live in the countryside and on farmland and eat mice, voles and other furry animals. They catch them with their talons and they eat them whole. Afterwards they spit out all the bones and fur in a pellet.
Owls have superpowers. They have excellent hearing. Their ears are holes, not flaps like ours and their heart shape face acts like a satellite dish directing the sound into their ears. They can also fly silently so that their prey doesn’t hear them.
Flo has dark brown eyes. Owls with dark eyes come out at night time (nocturnal).
Pip was much smaller than Flo. She has yellow and black eyes which means that she hunts during the daytime, or at dusk and dawn.
Little owls eat furry creatures too, but they also eat smaller things like worms and bugs and beetles. They live in the countryside and often near farms and orchards because they can find bugs on the fallen apples or on the cow pats!
We heard both owls making screeching noises. They can also hiss. We learned that they don’t say twit twoo as only tawny owls make that call.
Thank you to Paul for an amazing and informative session. The children and adults have learned so much today. You can find out more about owls and other birds of prey on his website linked here.
