Today, the Urban Naturalists finished up their projects creating made-up creatures and presented them to the class. All the creatures had excellent adaptations that allowed them to survive in even the harshest of environments.
We then checked out some fun raptor biofacts and learned a bit more about the hawk we saw while on one of our Roger Williams Park adventures.
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Emily shows us some of the adaptations of hawks and owls that
allow them to live in a wide range of habitats |
We then did a very fun and messy activity - dissected owl pellets. Raptors (such as owls and hawks) are carnivores who eat things such as mice, rats, squirrels, voles, small birds, frogs, and lizards. When they eat their prey, they do not chew it up like humans do. They either gobble it down whole or consume it in smaller chunks by ripping it up with their beak. As they do this, they do not have the ability to take off all the fur, feathers, and bones of the animal. Instead, their bodies separate out the undigested parts and they cough them up as a solid pellet. Scientists are able to collect these pellets and dissect them. These pellets can tell us alot about the animal or the area! Is the animal healthy? What types of animals are the raptors consuming? How big is the raptor that left the pellet? How many animals did they consume?
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| Shailyn finds a skull! |
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| Our Mad Urban Naturalist Scientist! |
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One Urban Naturalists carefully
removes the fur away from a rat skull! |
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| Check out this cool rat skull! |
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| One student found 3 skulls! |
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| Skull and jawbone |
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