Year 4 had an amazing session with falconer Dave and his Birds of Prey.  First we met Crackerjack, a White Faced Owl.  We learnt how owls are adapted to be amazing nocturnal hunters and how their superpower sense is hearing.  That is why owls’ ears are a bit wonky, this helps them to hear better! Crackerjack flew from the perch over our heads to Dave and we were amazed at how silently he can fly. We also met an Eagle Spotted Owl.  This species is much larger than the White faced Owl but just as beautiful.

Dave also introduced us to three diurnal (daytime) birds: a Peregrine Falcon, a Harris Hawk and a baby Bald American Eagle! The baby eagle was already fully grown at 9 months old but had brown feathers instead of a black body and white head which is typical of adult Bald Eagles.  The wingspan of the baby eagle was an incredible 2 metres! We learnt that the superpower sense of diurnal Birds of Prey is their eyesight.  Did you know that a Peregrine Falcon can see an object clearly that is 2 miles away? Astounding!

We had an absolutely amazing time with Dave and are now inspired to learn more about Birds of Prey.  As an extra bonus, Dave kindly gave us some owl pellets to dissect. (Any part of an animal that can’t be digested such as bones and fur is regurgitated in the form of a pellet.)  Look out for pictures soon of what we find inside the pellets…