You and the HOOT Project Make a Difference

Helping Out Owls Together

You & The HOOT Project make a difference!

Conserving Owls is Good Science!

Owl conservation has many beneficial aspects and outcomes. A sustained and focused conservation program promotes good stewardship, good farming practices, and it is good fun! Kidwings has enjoyed a long history of rescuing birds of prey and actively endeavors to improve the safety and welfare of birds of prey that consume pests that result in unnecessary farming costs---which makes our food cost more! Kidwings’ Helping Out Owls Together Project, affectionately known as, The HOOT Project, is the perfect program allowing you to make a difference.

1. Good Stewardship. As responsible citizens of our respective communities, we are entrusted to be good managers of our resources. Encouraging species survival is part of this important responsibility. Helping owls by providing nesting boxes offers Barn Owls protection from natural predators. This encourages healthy numbers of Barn Owls, Nature’s most effective form of natural pest control. 2. Good Farming. Helping owls thrive promotes sustainable farming practices and helps out farmers’ bottom line costs. The cost of pesticides increases every year and adds expense to efficient farming techniques. Nesting boxes encourage strong Barn Owl communities, which prey on rodents, insects and a variety of other pests that are harmful to crops. This saves farmers money and removes the need to use potentially harmful pesticides and chemicals. We can all agree, this is a win-win for everyone.

3. Good Fun. Building nesting boxes is a great project for students, campers, scouts, or other community groups wanting to participate in good ecological stewardship. The process of building a nesting box and finding a suitable location for installation fosters a sense of responsibility in young people and ensures future generations of environmental stewards.

Where Would I Hang a Nesting Box?

Barn Owls like to be undisturbed and hidden from the view of humans and predators. If the owl can hide, it can easily become accustomed to almost any type of activity or noise and often will quietly observe human activity. Owls seem to prefer perching on wood rather than metal or stone. Well-used roost places are almost always where the owl can stay completely dry during wet weather. Given a choice of perching places, a Barn Owl almost always perches at least 10 feet above ground level. Good locations to hang boxes include high in trees on the edge of a hay or open field, in the high reaches of a barn, on the inside of a hay barn or shed, or on the outside of a structure facing an open field.

Good Luck!

The HOOT Project is a great way to plug into great outcomes. Whether supporting a nesting box program in the areas the HOOT Project is working, or starting your very own HOOT project, our collaboration is making a difference. Learn more about The HOOT Project today at www.TheHOOTProject. org or at www. obdk.com. We’re Helping Out Owls Together!

Owl Pellet Dissection Lab

Barn Owl pellets have been chosen because these owls swallow small rodents and birds whole, and the resulting pellets generally contain the complete skeletons of their prey. Pellets begin forming within the digestive tract of an owl as soon as the prey is swallowed. Enzymatic juices break down the body tissues in the prey but leave the bony materials and hair or feathers undigested. Depending upon the prey eaten, the undigested portions may include beaks, claws, scales, or insect exoskeletons. This type of material has little nutritional value and must be “gagged” from the system. Predatory mammals such as bobcats and wolves have teeth to grind up bones and claws, and a digestive tract adapted to pass these ground parts. Owls, on the other hand, do not have teeth for grinding and cannot pass whole bone and claws through their digestive tract safely. Instead, these materials form a pellet that is surrounded with the hair or feathers of the prey consumed. The pellet is then orally expelled, or gagged, and the owl begins feeding again.

You will need the following items in order to conduct a Barn Owl Discovery Kit Pellet Lab:

OBDK Bone Identification Charts To aid in prey identification

Pencil To record findings Clean sheet of paper To place extracted bones on Two probes To loosen fur from bones Tweezers To extract bones away from fur Magnifying glass To identify bone type

Paper towels To absorb excess water

Antibacterial wipes

To sanitize work station White glue To secure bleached bones to bone chart Tub of water diluted bleach To whiten extracted bones

Scientists and teachers take advantage of this unique process by collecting these pellets and examining their contents. Since owls are not very selective feeders, these pellets can be used in a variety of instructional settings. The contents are a direct indication of what an owl has fed on. A one-year study of a particular Barn Owl revealed the following diet: 1,407 mice, 143 rats, 7 bats, 5 young rabbits, 375 house sparrows, 23 starlings, 54 other birds, 2 lizards, 174 frogs, 25 moths, and 52 crickets.