Owl Pellets - gross, but cool!

Did you know that an owl does not have teeth, but it has 2 stomachs?

Students in Kindergarten and Grade 3-4 have been learning many interesting things about owls – the Kindergarteners in their Snowy Owl Unit and the Grade 3-4 students by reading Owls in the Family. Today the students paired up to explore owl pellets.

Because owls have no teeth they have to swallow their food whole. It enters their first stomach where it separates the prey into what it can use and what it can’t. The nutritious stuff passes into the second stomach. The stuff it can’t digest gets packed into a tight little ball of fur and bones and then gets regurgitated by the owl.

That is what an owl pellet is!

Was it gross? Well…. read what some of the students said.

“I expected it would be way more yuckier. We used white gloves as a protection of your hands. We used a probe to hold things down while using tweezers to pick stuff out. I learned that owl pellets are small and have lots of bones. It was also smaller than I thought and again, yucky.” Brandon

“Me and Bennett found a vole. we saw a skull of a vole and a backbone of a vole and a rat. The rat’s teeth were quite small but the front teeth were yellow.” Micah VG

“I found lots and lots of hair. The hair was covering everything but we still found bones. My partner was Nikkolas. Nikkolas said, when we got to the classroom, “I’m scared.” But when we got the owl pellet he said, “Woooo!” Miriam

What an amazing creator God we have … one who creates amazing creatures like owls and gives them an amazing way to eat and digest their food.

We are thankful for the opportunity to explore and learn and wonder, all while being a little grossed out 🙂