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Owls of the Nighttime Mightm Be.” Hunters Texas Wildlife Association presents.... March 2012 Kid’s Quarterly Mini-Mag! Vol. 6 No. 1 Postcards from Nancy...By Carolyn Bierschwale Greetings from West Texas! I’m writing to you from the beautiful plant and wildlife It’s fairly light in weight and seems to be made mostly of fur. I refuge of Guadalupe Mountains National Park located around am going to investigate it by carefully taking it apart. Would Salt Flat, Texas, which is about 110 driving miles east of El you like to help?” Paso. Grant the Gopher and I are on an adventure to look for “Sure,” I chuckled. “I’ll let you do the touching while I do the common signs that animals leave behind, such as tracks, food watching.” scraps, droppings, nests, burrows, and marks on trees. These This odd-shaped clump was grayish-brown and about the give us clues about where they live, what they eat, and their size of a small chicken egg. As Grant delicately pulled small daily or nightly activities. clumps of fur and fiber away, we discovered tiny, white bits What’s so fantastic about a place like this is that both the scattered throughout the oblong mass. Each bit was set aside days and nights are filled with interesting things to see, smell, until all of the fur was separated, then Grant and I studied what and hear. We are amazed at the evidence of all Owl pellet with contents we found. that goes on around us! Steep slopes and high (Wikimedia) “Wow!” exclaimed Grant. “These are bones! ridges set a stunning backdrop while we follow a Do you see the tiny jaw, leg bones, and skull? This desert trail marked with broken egg shells, rodent mustm be the remains of some animal’s meal, like footprints, hawk feathers, and an occasional wewe saw in the raccoon poop!” whiff of coyote urine (pew!) Small piles of dark “What an exciting discovery,” I said. “It looks droppings reveal bits of colorful berries that were likelik droppings, only it’s made of fur and rodent once part of a raccoon’s meal. At dark, if Grant’s bones,bo like a giant hairball. Let’s look in our not snoring, I like to lay back, stare at the stars, animalan signs field books to find out what this and listen for the hoots and howls of the nighttime mightm be.” hunters. Though I cannot see these predators, Our research showed us that the mass is called I am aware that the coyotes and owls are out there,here silently an owl pellet. pellet I explained, “It is the regurgitation of indigestible stalking their prey. parts. In other words, an owl swallows its prey whole. The fur, One morning, I arose from my tent and sleepily walked feathers, and bones of mice and small birds are too hard to to the picnic table where Grant was sitting. He seemed to digest so the owl throws up a rounded, compacted pellet of the be quietly concentrating on something lying on the table. As waste.” I looked at the ground around him, I matter-of-factly said, “Well, that’s a hoot!” responded Grant. “Hmm… I can tell what you ate for breakfast by your leftover Pellets are a common sign of owls present in an area. roots, seed pods, and tossed cactus spines.” I pointed to the Discovering and dissecting one can be an exciting way to trash can, but Grant was too busy to notice my gesture. investigate one of the many interesting traits of owls. You can I sat down at the table and gasped at what Grant was visit www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/index.htm for studying so intently. “What is that disgusting clump of fuzz that a virtual owl pellet dissection. you’re picking at? It’s not dessert, is it?” ‘Owl’ be seeing you! Grant laughed, “Oh no, Nancy. It’s something I found while on my morning walk near an old, hollow oak tree in a canyon. Nancy Nine-band Critter Connections is made Attention Teachers: possible by a grant from the Free class sets available while they last! San Antonio Livestock Exposition. Send your name, school name, grade taught, and mailing address to [email protected] Join TWA Today! S ! Last year, we provided programming for over 62,000 youth across the state through Distance Learning, Discovery Trunks, Enrichment Modules, Wildlife by Design¸ Learning Across New Dimensions in Science (L.A.N.D.S.), and Texas Brigades. Contact us to find out how we may help you incorporate wildlife and natural resources into your classroom! Most programs are free for teachers. For information on our educational programs, please contact us at 800-TEX-WILD (800-839-9453). Joining TWA is optional. Each membership helps support TWA programs but it is not required to participate in our programs. Membership Levels: ____ Life Member $2,400 ____ President’s Council $1,000 ____ Corporate $635 ____ Patron $375 ____ Family $230 ____ Active $145 ____ Associate $40 ____ Student $20 ____ Youth $12 (ages 17-22) (ages 16 & under) All members receive a one year subscription to our monthly magazine, Texas Wildlife. Kids Sp tlight Questionnaire 1. What is your name? Audrey 2. What city/town do you live in? Houston, Texas 3. How old are you? 9 years old 4. What grade are you in? 4th grade 5. What is your favorite school subject? Why? Music, because I can imagine I’m in a different world. 6. What is your least favorite school subject? Why? Math, because it’s very hard and you have to think so much. 7. What are some of your hobbies? I like singing outside, playing with animals, and I like taking pictures of nature. 8. What is your favorite outdoor activity? Making piles of leaves, and then jumping into them! 9. What do you want to be when you grow up? I would like to be a country singer because you get to go to different places for music videos, and all sorts of things. 10. Who is your “hero”? Taylor Swift because she loves the outdoors, and she’s a country music singer. 11. If you were granted one wish, what would you wish for? All the kids who need help would get help, and there would be no more homeless people. 12. Describe yourself in three words. Caring, not shy, and a good friend. 13. What is the best way for kids to get involved with the outdoors? Just spending an hour or 30 minutes outside playing your favorite games. 2 2 Photos courtesy of Audrey’s family puzzles.....mazes.....oh my! go ahead.....give it a try! Owl Sudoku Directions: Cut out the shaded owl pieces below and place them in the grid so that each row and column contains one of each. word searches...... Predator - Prey Maze Created by Puzzlemaker at DiscoveryEducation.com Directions: Owls are nocturnal so nighttime means dinnertime! Help the owl to the mouse by working your way through the maze. Eastern Screech-Owl by Suzy Beck Fisher Reyna Education offers professional Sudoku Key: development and a website subscription Maze Key: to provide resources in reading and writing. They work to better connect teaching and testing. See them at www.fisherryena. com. TWA and Critter Connections have partnered with Fisher Reyna Education to bring authentic children’s content in reading language arts. 3 corner Photo by While all owls possess a form of these adaptations, each (feathers) that vary from light gray to dark brown overall and heavily mottled Russell Graves species boasts unique features which enable survival in a particular (with blotches), has yellow eyes and wide-set ear tufts. It can be found environment. Described next are a few of Texas’ common owls and statewide in forests, meadows, suburban parks, agricultural areas, and at their features: the outer edges of landfills. The Great Horned Barn Owl -- This owl is known throughout Owl’s call is 4-6 deep hoots, like hoo-hoo- the world and is well-known for its heart-shaped hoooo hoo-hoo. face and dark eyes. Its body is mostly golden Burrowing Owl -- Best known for and brown with white underneath, and spotted appropriately named for its burrowing habits in with black and gray. Its role in rodent control grazed pastures and prairies, this small owl is c makes it a favorite rooster of both urban and easily identified by its long legs and oversized agricultural areas. The barn owl can be found eyes. It has brown upperparts with white flecks nesting in hollow areas of a tree, building, (spots), yellow bill, and no ear tufts. Often cave, or bridge throughout most of the state seen perched atop fence posts or rocks near its year-round, except in the Trans-Pecos Mountain underground burrow entrance, the Burrowing Burrowing Owl by Rusty Ray region. It prefers small rodents but may also Barn Owl by Wyman Meinzer Owl can be found year-round in the western r Eyes of the take snakes, lizards, birds, and large insects. third of Texas and is a regular winter migrant to the rest of the state Its call includes harsh, raspy screeches, hisses, and eastward until the Pineywoods region. It uses its talons to enlarge metallic clicking sounds. an abandoned ground squirrel or prairie dog burrow and can even Night Western and Eastern Screech-Owls -- These be found in dry, developed areas near airports and golf courses. two small owls live year-round in Texas, roosting in Their diet consists of mostly ground insects such as grasshoppers and By Carolyn Bierschwale hollow trees or old buildings by day and hunting beetles, as well as small rodents, birds, amphibians, and reptiles.
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