The project has been set up to try to encourage people to put up nest boxes for owls, as their ideal habitats of areas with long, rough grassland are rapidly disappearing from modern landscapes.

Hilary showed the children examples of nest boxes, and  discussed the characteristics of ideal habitats for owls.

 
Through Hilary's skillful questioning the children were soon able to identify the characteristics that help make Mr Sparky a successful hunter

• very good eyesight which helps him see his prey
• large talons which help him grip his prey
• special wings that help him to fly silently
• heart shaped face that is shaped like a satellite dish, which captures the sound and helps direct it towards his ears.

They also learnt to identify a male Barn Owl by the white feathers on his chest and his size. 

 
We also learnt that owls have different eye colours according to the time that they hunt.

Owls that hunt at night are called nocturnal and have brown or black eyes
Owls that hunt during the day are called diurnal and have yellow eyes
Owls that hunt at dawn and dusk are called crepuscular and have orange eyes

You can see the children enjoyying Mr Sparky and Hilary's visit here.

Reception and Year One made their own owl masks.

 
 
The children learnt that owls have to swallow their food whole because they have no teeth. They cannot digest all the parts of their prey e.g fur and bones and so they bring this back up in the form of pellets.

Year Two and Three were given the opportunity to disect some  pellets and to try and identify the owl's prey. The pellets were placed in water to soften them, the fur was then removed and the children used an identification chart to classify the skulls and bones they found.

You can see the children carrying out their investigation in the slideshow below.

If you would like to find out more about the World Owl Trust you can visit their website  www.owls.org  where you can see live pictures of Barn Owls nesting in Israel !