We moved into our house two months ago, but have been very busy with usual move-in activities.  We haven’t taken the time to notice the spectacular animal biology lessons right outside our back door!

However, over the last ten days, we have had more time to look out the window!  Several birds of prey have visited and hunted in our yard and the adjacent woods.  The visitors have included an owl (We haven’t been able to get a close up look to see what type of owl and the red-tailed hawk pictured above.

This week I want to share some of our photographs, book titles, and  links of interest…including some neat birds of prey lending trunks and my daughter’s favorite …a raptor coloring book!

Links

Note: Some sites will have external links that I was not able to check. 

• Carolina Raptor Center:   Their website is packed with information, games, photos, and lesson ideas. 

 If you are ever in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, I highly recommend the CRC as a “must see”.  They provide a behind-the scenes tour, which requires registration. 

Last year we adopted a raptor as a gift for a bird-loving grandparent and had great fun taking her to visit her bird!  We also enjoyed the information packet they sent along with the adoption certificate.  It was a neat way to learn and support the center’s efforts.

• There are a number of raptor centers throughout the United States:

The Cascades Raptor Center 

Alaska Raptor Center  

A comprehensive list of raptor centers

·        Discovery Lending Trunks  for grades K through 8^th from the University of Minnesota Raptor Center.  They will ship them to the five state area (Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota).   They have some interesting titles:  “All About Owls”, “Eagle Endeavors”…check out their lesson plans too! 

·        Listen to some of the owls found in the southeastern United States.  This site from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Auburn University has a wealth of information!

·        A slideshow children and adults will enjoy from the Auburn University site.

·        A FREE, online raptor coloring book  

·        Building plans for various types of woodland nesting boxes, including owl nest boxes.  Information from North Carolina State University.

·        Owlcam.com also has thorough information about the how’s and what’s to building an owl nesting box.

·        Owlpages.com   This is a comprehensive site with many links. 

·        Send a raptor e-card!

·        A few years ago a homeschool friend invited our support group to her home, where a licensed falconer spoke with the group.  I found our state falconry group via a web search.

This site provides some history and information about falconry.  This site also has some GREAT photos for use as your desktop wallpaper.   Falconry is a great tie-in with a study of ancient and medieval history!

In between browsing websites and reading books, don’t forget to dissect an owl pellet.  Display the bones your family finds in a Riker box!  Pellet dissection is a great activity for children as young as four. 

(Note: Owls regurgitate the fur and bones of their prey that they don’t use for energy.  This regurgitated “stuff” is called a pellet.  See the vendor list below for buying information.)

We have done pellet dissections about 10 times and have found plenty of skulls, usually with the mandible detached.  However, this week, we uncovered an intact skull.

Top view

The view when we looked “underneath”.

Books:

“Animal Predators: Owls”, Sandra Markle.  Carolrhoda Books. Minneapolis.  2004.

“Birds that Hunt”, Willard Luce.  Follett Publishing, Chicago. 1970.

“Eagle” by Judy Allen.  Candlewick Press. Cambridge, MA. 1994.

“First Field Guide: Birds of Prey”, National Geographic.  We like this series of field guides for their photos.       

“Fly by Night” (Storybook for younger ages.) June Crebbin.  Candlewick Press. Cambrige, MA.  1993.

“Sam and the Firefly” P.D. Eastman.  Random House. New York. 1958.  This is a classic!

“The Mother Owl” by Edith Thatcher Hurd.  Little Brown and Company.  New York.  1974.  This is a mix of a  story and informational format. (grades K-3^rd)

“There’s An Owl in the Shower” by Jean Craighead George.

“Urban Roosts: Where Birds Nest in the City” by Barbara Bash.  Little Brown and Company. New York.  1990.  Find out where  barn owls and nighthawks nest in the city!

Vendors:

Mountain Home Biological sells pellets and dissection equipment.

Treasure Box Press has a kit on owls.  It comes with lessons, supplies for a pellet dissection and a “living book” on owls. Two age levels are available.

     Potomac Display for Riker boxes

Next week on the Front Porch, we’ll take a look at the FIRST™ Lego™ League, starting a robotics co-op, and some relatively inexpensive ways to keep your family’s robot “nut” engaged and learning! 

If you have any questions about this topic, please feel free to email them to me before next week, and I’ll answer them on the porch.

Michelle

Michelle and her husband have been homeschooling their children for 8 years.  She currently serves as the Judge Advisor for the North Carolina FIRST Lego League state tournament.  She is the author of “RIC: Robots in the Classroom”.  She worked for 15 years in the biotechnology industry before turning her heart toward home.