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February 2006
 Who's Hooting in the Night?

"Can grave and formal pass for wise, 
When Men the solemn Owl despise?"
Benjamin Franklin

What to Do This Month:
Listen for owls at night.

Look for owl pellets during the day.

Find out how you can help scientists monitor owl populations in Wisconsin.

Check out family events at area Nature Net sites!

Tricks of the Trail for Parents:
Night Time Discovery
Make it a treat and stay up past bedtime to explore with your kids.  Nighttime exploration can be fun with these tricks:  take a piece of red cellophane or red rubber balloon and secure it over the end of a flashlight to make yourself less noticeable by night creatures and keep your eyes in "night vision" mode.  Or go out during a full moon (the 13^th this month) and it may be bright enough to light your explorations á naturale!  Bring light snacks, a thermos of hot cocoa and something dry to sit on (a large plastic bag will do in a pinch) for quiet stops along the way. Brush up on local nocturnal animal sounds and get out there to listen, watch and discover!

Instant Outdoor Expert:
Owl Adaptations
Owls are amazingly well adapted to a nocturnal lifestyle.  The most obvious trait is their enormous eyes.  Generally the same size as human eyes, owl eyes are far more developed and are very efficient at collecting and processing light.  These large eyes - often as large as their brain - give cause for some other interesting adaptations, including eyes that cannot roll or rotate; and a third eye lid (called the nictitating membrane) which blinks diagonally from the inside to the outer edge of the eye to keep it clean. Not being able to roll ones eyes could be troublesome while hunting small rodents and birds, but the owl more than makes up for it with additional neck vertebrae (twice as many as humans) which allows it to turn its head 270 degrees and almost upside-down.
In the dark, hearing can be as important as sight and owls have that mastered as well. The feathers around an owl's face (called the facial disc) are arranged to act as a "radar disc", guiding sound into the ear opening.  The shape of the disc can be altered at will with special facial muscles to "tune into" the most minute sounds of prey rustling in the ground cover such as leaves, foliage, or even snow. Deane Lewis of OwlPages.com explains, "When a noise is heard, the Owl is able to tell its direction because of the minute time difference in which the sound is perceived in the left and right ear - for example, if the sound was to the left of the Owl, the left ear would hear it before the right ear. The Owl then turns it's head so the sound arrives at both ears simultaneously - then it knows the prey is right in front of it. Owls can detect a left/right time difference of about 0.00003 seconds (30 millionths of a second!)" 

See these amazing adaptations in action on these Wisconsin owls:
Year-round:
Eastern Screech
Great Horned
Barred

Migratory (winter residents):
Short-eared
Long-eared
Snowy
Northern Saw-whet

Wisconsin Endangered:
Barn Owl

And, check out Wisconsin Natural Resource's article "Invasion of the Vole Snatchers" for info on owls usually only seen in Canada now appearing in Wisconsin.

Eco-Exercise:
Twist and Hoot Out!
Owls are so agile in their ability to see around them that folks used to think an owl could swivel its head around 360-degrees!  See how far you can swivel around: standing tall with your feet slightly apart and arms out, slowly twist your upper body to the right.  How far can you see?  Return to center and try it to the left.  Now try turning only your head.  Now only your eyes.  Can you see as much as old owl? Pick your favorite owl call to imitate and give a call!

Featured Nature Net Site

Nature Craft

MacKenzie Environmental Education Center
The MacKenzie Environmental Education Center is one of the most complete environmental education centers anywhere in Wisconsin.
The Center is situated on 280 acres of rolling fields and forest land. MacKenzie is a wonderful place for family outings, picnics and out of the classroom adventures.
The Center features an exhibit of live Wisconsin wildlife, self-guided hikes and trails, museums, a fire tower, a picnic area and much more.
Whether on your own, with your family and friends, or as an organized group, come enjoy and learn about resource management in Wisconsin. Grounds Open dawn to dusk year-round except deer gun season.
Wildlife Exhibits and Museums open year around from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (mid-October through April 30 Monday through Friday only).
(608) 635-8105 
As for owls at the MacKenzie center, there are two great horned owls and two barred owls in the Wildlife Exhibit area and a population of great horned owls on the property.  The Great Horned Owls can be heard, marking their territories, almost daily after about 4pm. For close-up viewing, there is a nice mounted great horned owl in the office and a pair of mounted saw-whet owls in the Director's office.  (Office hours are Tuesday through Friday from 8:15am - 1:00pm and 2:00pm - 4:00pm.) 

Snowy Owl
Snowy Owls spend wintertime here in Wisconsin - they actually consider this a warm place to spend the winter compared to the frozen landscape of Northern Canada where they spend most of the year.
These pinecone snowy owls will enjoy a cozy perch in your house. Here's how to make them:

Wrap a pinecone in a thin layer of fiberfill or stretched-out cotton balls, leaving the brown petals of the pinecone sticking through. Now cut eyes from yellow paper and punch pupils from black paper to glue in the center of each eye.  Glue two eyes on one side of one end of the pinecone.
Cut triangle beaks for the owls from black paper.  Glue them in place under the eyes to complete the faces of your owls.  
Collect a branch from your yard or a near-by park, give it a warm layer of fiberfill (or cotton ball) "snow" and perch your snowy owls atop!

(Adapted form " Crafts for Kids Who Are Wild About the Wild" by Kathy Ross and Sharon Lane Holm)

Learn about other Nature Net sites

Nature Craft Archives

"Owl Moon" by Jane Yolen (ages 4-8)

"Owl Lake" by Keizaburo Tejima (ages 4-8)

"All About Owls" by Jim Arnosky (ages 4-8)

"Owls: Whoo Are They?" by Kila Jarvis (ages 9-12)

"Raptor! A Kid's Guide to Birds of Prey" by Christyna M. Laubach (ages 9-12)

"There's an Owl in the Shower" by Jean Craighead George (ages 9-12)

"Owls in the Family" by Farley Mowat (ages 9-12)

Find Family events on the Nature Net Calendar of Events

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