Owl Pellets

In late fall, we had the opportunity to learn about owls and dissect owl pellets.  This was a first for myself and all of the students.  The dissection was optional.  A few students made a "scrunched up nose" face and decided to pass!
We had a diagram that organized bones from several different owl prey.  We were able to determine what type of small animal the owl ate by matching up the bones we found contained within the pellet to the bones on the diagram.  This process took much longer than expected (must be done in small groups), but the students seemed to enjoy it.  Each student was able to clean a couple of the bones they discovered and set the bones in clay to keep as a reminder of the task!