

Last Thursday, we went to Ernie Miller for a class about the owls native to Kansas. The naturalists brought out four different kinds of native owls; a Barn Owl, a Screech Owl, a Barred Owl, and a Great Horned Owl. They also showed us how their feathers have combs in the end for soundless flying, a hollow bone, an owl talon, and an example of an owl skull to show how big the eye sockets are. The naturalist showed us that if our eyes to skull ratio was the same as an owl’s, our eyes would be the size of tennis balls! We were also able to see what an owl pellet looks like after it’s been dissected, and the kids were able to learn about the various habitats that each owl lives in and the best time of year to see them in the wild or neighborhoods.
Afterwards, some of the families explored the exhibits, checked out the bird feeders, where the kids spotted Bluejays and Cardinals and the other rooms in the nature center.
We’ll be back at Ernie Miller on February 5th for the Inspector Insector class. We still have a couple of spots open for families interested in attending.
Naturalist Regina with Screech Owl
Naturalist Regina with Barred Owl
Naturalist Bill with Great Horned Owl
Naturalist Bill with Great Horned Owl

