A few weeks ago our local owl sanctuary very kindly gave me some owl pellets and feathers to show the Nature Club. We dissected (well, I did!) a pellet and found all sorts of interesting bits - bones and fur.
Owl pellets are what owls regurgitate once they have swallowed all the bits they can digest. The rest - the bones, fur, beaks, insect wing cases etc, are squashed together in the owl's gizzard and then "coughed up". You can find all sorts of gruesome things - all absolutely fascinating. The kids loved it. There were lots of oohs, aahs and urghs!
Today, we were absolutely thrilled that Brian from the Folkestone Owl Sanctuary visited us and brought along a gorgeous Eagle Owl called Bob and two beautiful Barn Owls.
Not only that but we also got to share the experience with the Greenfingers Club too!
Brian told us all about owls - what they eat and where they live and how humans have affected the barn owl population so badly that they are now nearly extinct. We were very sad to hear that and we all want to help make sure that they are protected in the future.
The children listened carefully and were very well behaved. They all lined up beautifully to stroke the owls.
We managed to collect a nice amount of money to donate to the owl sanctuary - a charity which totally relies on donations to survive.
Brian told us that the gauntlets they use to protect their hands and give the owls somewhere to sit cost £50 each and they only last a couple of years.
They also have 8 to 10 enclosures that all need new roofs - at £500 a time!
We are pleased to help them. The Greenfingers club have planted up lots of sweet pea plants which they are going to sell at 50p each and this money will be donated to the owl sanctuary.
We also hope to get Brian and his owls back in for the whole school to see. And hopefully as a result we will be able to raise even more money for them.
We had a wonderful time today - thank you Brian for sharing your expert knowledge and beautiful birds with us.
