Objectives: Participants will be able to identify adaptations that aid in the survival of owls.

. Participants will comprehend the obstacles owls encounter. Participants will distinguish between different research methods of scientists and amateurs. Materials: Pictures of common Iowa owls and owl skull Mounted specimen of a great horned owl Tennis balls Owl puppet (optional for younger audiences) Introduction: Owls have captivated our attention for thousands of years, appearing in myths, religion, art, literature, and even in pop culture. Inhabiting extreme desert and frigid artic climates, these unique looking birds are found on every continent but Antarctica. Despite these adaptations, owl populations are declining around the world. Scientists and owl lovers are researching owls to develop conservation practices and educate the public on how to protect these amazing birds. Use this program to demonstrate the amazing characteristics of owls, educate participants about the stresses owls encounter in Iowa, and explain what they can do to help. General Description: The three most common owls in Iowa include the barred owl, great horned owl, and eastern screech-owl. Other owls you may encounter include the long and short -eared, barn, snowy, great gray, northern saw-whet, and the burrowing owl. Owls are primarily nocturnal, using adaptations for sight, hearing, and catching prey to be extremely effective predators. Owl Adaptations: Feathers: Owl feathers are fringed at the ends and zip together like a zipper. This allows an owl to silently fly down and catch prey without being detected. Gently use a feather on the mounted great horned owl to display how the feathers zip together. Hearing: Many owls have uneven or lopsided ears. Instead of being straight across from one another like other animals, owls ears are diagonal from each other. This allows owls to pinpoint the location of prey. Their faces are generally shaped like a disk which funnels in sound. The beaks are often flat to help with the collection of sounds. Point of these features on the great horned owl.

Left ear

Right ear

Sight: Owls cant move their eyes from side to side or up and down; they have no eye muscles. However, they can turn their heads about 270 degrees. Owls eyes are also very large and take up most of their skull, leaving little room for the brain.
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Activities: The following activities should be used to demonstrate the difference between owls and us. Enhancement Ears: Line the participants up in a single file line facing you. Faintly say can you hear me now? and the participants should answer yes. Each time the question is asked the leader will walk backwards away from the line until the participants can no longer hear your voice. This distance is marked. Repeat the game a second time. Have participants cup their ears so that their hearing is intensified and then mark the distance at which the participants can no longer hear you. The second distance should be longer than the first. - Connection: Discuss the shape of an owls face and ears. Most owls, such as the barred and great horned owl, have disk shaped faces that funnel in sounds to improve hearing. Clap Detection: Discuss why owl ears are uneven. Ask a participant to sit on a chair and close their eyes. Clap around the participant and have them point to the direction from which the sound came. Clap behind and in front, below and above and on either side of the volunteer. Most likely the participant will have some trouble locating sounds in front or behind or above and below them (results vary with participants). Explain how humans are masters at left and right but not up and down detection of sound. - Connection: Owls ears help locate the prey. Along with great eye sight, owls use this hearing adaptation to pinpoint the location of prey. Tennis Ball Squeeze: Owls and other birds of prey rely on their strong talons and feet to capture prey. Allow participants to squeeze a tennis ball to see how flat they can get it. Most people will have a hard time squeezing the ball. Point out the talons on the mounted great horned owl. - Connection: Birds like owls can exert a large amount of pressure on their prey (or on a tennis ball). Below is a list of the average amount of pressure different animals can exert. Adult Human (one handed): 50 lbs Large dog jaws (if they were to bite something): 250 lbs Owl or Hawk: 500 lbs Eagle: 750 lbs Owl Puppet (for younger patrons): Use the owl puppet with younger children who often want to touch more objects. Ask participants to point out the eyes, beak, feet, wings, and other characteristics of the owl. You can also ask where owls live and what types of homes do they have. Feel free to read an owl book from the preschool.

Conservation and Research: Many owl species in the U.S. and Iowa have decreased in population. In Iowa, the barn owl and short-eared owl are listed as endangered animals, while the long -eared owl is listed as threatened. Owls have suffered as a result of habitat loss and sprawling urban development. Other factors responsible for the decline of owl populations include the injury/loss of an owl by automotive accidents, predation by other owls like the great horned, and resource competition by animals such as the barred owl. This decline is concerning and could lead to increases in many pests. As top predators, owls help control the population of animals such as mice, rats, and rabbits. In Iowa , for example, cottontail rabbit populations are high and will continue to increase with fewer owl predators. Biologists are studying owls to monitor and develop improved conservation practices. These methods often require specialized skills and equipment.
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Specialized Research Techniques: Rope Drag: This technique is used for ground nesting birds like the short -eared owl. Two people drag a rope across a given area attempting to flush an owl from the ground, allowing researchers to study the habitat or nest site. Mist Nets: Researchers often flush owls into specially designed nets called mist nets. This allows them to take detailed information about the owls size and physical characteristics. It is often used on migrating birds as well. Knock and Scrape: This method involves following a hand knocking and scraping pattern on trees that may contain a nest in them. This causes the owl to appear and allows researchers to count the number of owls. Nest Boxes: Researchers sometimes use nest boxes to provide owls a better habitat to nest. Once a nest box is located they can use the knock and scrape technique to see if any owls have inhabited the nest box. Below are a few techniques you can do on your own with few materials. Its important to remember never to disturb an owl during nesting season and to only call for an owl a few times. Not following these guidelines may disturb the owls and cause them to abandon a nest or a territory. Standard Research Techniques: Passive/active: Mimic an owl song and listen for that owl to reply. Nest Search: Look for old stick nests that were made by crows or hawks to see if an owl (like the great horned owl) took them over. Pellets/White washing: Search the base of trees to find white streaks or look closely at the ground to find owl pellets (the fur and bones that owls regurgitate after eating). Observation: Go out in the early evening or morning and look at fence posts or low tree stumps. Owls like the short -eared often hunt from these areas. Trail cameras: Many hunters already use trail cameras to investigate wildlife such as deer. You can also use these cameras to look for owls. Researchers use this method too. Using expensive, high quality video cameras, researches can study owls in inaccessible/remote areas. Discussion Questions: How are owls different from you, me, and other animals? Younger patrons What colors are the owls? Why are they those colors? Younger patrons Have you ever seen an owl? When/Where? Think about habitat and behavior What owls do you know? Do you recognize any of the pictures? Do you know any owl calls? Why are owls important in Iowa? Hint to what comprises an owls diet What can you do to help owls in Iowa? Build nest boxes, avoid throwing food along roads, provide more habitat, visit DNR website to learn more