Cam in the Classroom Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Agnor-Hurt Elementary School Berkmar Drive, Charlottesville, VA Thursday, March 26, 2015 Hi Wildlife Center! We are so excited to talk to you about Gus and the owls of Virginia! We are so excited to have you here! Comment From Chris in Cato Hello Class!! We have loved all the great work you have done with your Gus sponsorship! We have been working hard to think of questions, so here is the first one: In what part of Virginia was Gus found? Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 1
She was found near Mechanicsville, Virginia which is near Richmond, VA So that is about an hour or so away from you all. Cool! That's not too far. Our next question is, how many mice does Gus eat in a day? Good question! She gets 70 grams of food each day. So that can be lots of little mice, or two to three larger mice. Sometimes she will get a chick to eat to give her meal more variety. OK, I think we thought Gus might eat more, but now we know! Our next question was kind of answered, but are there any other kinds of food that Gus or other owls eat? Barred Owls like Gus eat all sorts of things! In the wild they eat mice and other rodents, crayfish, frogs, bats, birds, and fish. They will wade up to their knees in streams to catch their food! Gus's x-ray. The red arrow is pointing to her knee! Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 2
Many of us are surprised by the wide variety of things barred owls eat! We are delighted to think of owls wading up to their knees! Our next question is, did Gus have any brothers or sisters? If so, how many? We aren't sure if Gus had any brother or sisters. It is likely she had one or two siblings since Barred Owls will lay two to three eggs. We love the X-ray! One student commented that the owl's knee is like our thigh! Our next question is, How does Gus show that she is upset? Gus does a couple of things. First she may fluff herself up to make herself look big and scary. Like this Fluffing up to look bigger Then she might clack her beak at us. Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 3
She also makes what we call the Gus face... She does a very good grumpy face. Oh wow, we LOVE the Gus face (but we don't want to upset her:). OK, so our next question is, are there any owls in Virginia that nest anywhere other than trees? Where? Excellent question! Most do nest in trees or in tree cavities. But some like the Short Eared Owl nest on the ground and the Burrowing Owl nests underground! Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 4
Michael J. Andersen Short-eared Owl Gerrit Vyn Burrowing Owl These are great questions class! Barred Owls are a bit lazy though. They don't build their own nests, but take over the abandoned nests of hawks. We are really enjoying this discussion! Our next question is, how do owl's clean themselves? Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 5
They do a behavior called preening. They take their beat and run their feathers through it. They will also ruffle their feathers and take baths. It's really important that owls take good care of their feathers since they have special ones that make them silent when they fly. They have special "fuzzies" that are on the outside part. Here is a picture of Gus's feathers! Do you see the fuzzies? When they take baths, do they roll in dirt or bath in a stream? Yes! We see the fuzzes! Cool! Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 6
They will bathe in water, just like you see songbirds taking a bath in a puddle or bird bath. Oh do you all want to hear what Gus sounds like? I have a video of our education crow Jaz, but in the background you can hear Gus hooting! YES! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8q3pmr10ns Did you hear her? Yes, we could hear! What a cool sound! Our next question is, which of the five senses is most important for an owl? Hearing! Owls have fantastic hearing! They have special ears that are different sizes and on different spots on their heads. They can tell the exactly where their prey is by listening. Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 7
Owl ears! Somethingnewlearnedeveryday.blogspot.com We can actually release an owl back into the wild with just one eye (if it is normal and not damaged) because they rely so much on their hearing. Cool! Our next question is, how big are owl's eyes? Owl eyes Well they take up most of their skull. Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 8
If we had eyes as big as owls, they would be the size of tennis balls! Whoah! We are learning so much! We have a few more questions: What kinds of machines do they have at the Wildlife Center to monitor the owls' health? oooooh! We have special machines that read their blood and tell us if they have infections or other problems. We have radiograph (x-ray) machines, a machine that tests for lead, a machine to test if their are parasites in their poop or blood, microscopes, cameras that can go inside an animal's mouth, and so much more! But the easiest one is a regular scale. We weigh our patients and education animals at least once a week. Gus gets weighed twice a week since she is an older owl. Currently she weighs 735 grams. Wow! There are so many things to check up on with owls! What is 735 grams in US customary (pounds)? That's about 1.6 pounds. Owls have to stay nice and light so they can fly. Thank you! Our next question is, how long do owls sleep? As long as they feel like it haha. Barred Owls are nocturnal so they are active during the night. Gus sleeps a good bit, but I've seen her awake and active during the day and especially in the evening around 5:00 p.m. :) We have one more question (the class has many more, but recess calls:) So, why are owls important? Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 9
Owls help keep everything in balance in nature. They help keep animal populations like mice in control. If we didn't have owls, the mouse population would get so big that they may eat up all the food in an area, leaving little for other animals. Mice also eat lots of grains and if we didn't have owls and other animals that eat mice, mice could eat up lots of our crops. Mice also can carry diseases that make us sick. Owls will eat those mice and help keep us healthy! As you can see, owls are pretty important. Gus We have really enjoyed our chat this morning. Thank you so much! Our class has many more questions... can we follow up later to pose these questions? I know these second graders are hungry for more learning! It was my absolute pleasure! Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 10
And please share those questions! Comment From BarbG thanks class-this was a wonderful sessions-loved the questions Comment From APK in FL Thank you Chapin and Mrs. Brown's and Mrs. Carswell's classes for the wonderfully informative sessions! OK we will be in touch! Bye! Bye Gus! thanks for teaching us so much! You are so welcome! Can't wait for May 18. And let me know if you would like to schedule more Cam in the Classroom sessions! Thank you so much! You have inspired many young scientists here at Agnor-Hurt! Cam in the Classroom: Mrs. Carswell s Second Grade Class Page 11