Where Wildlife, Humans, & Ecology Meet
Ecology Blueprints explores the interconnected systems that link wildlife, humans, and their habitats—through science, observation, and hands-on learning.
Because no organism exists alone. When you understand food webs, habitat, and pressure, the species make sense. Ecology isn’t about memorizing animals—it’s about understanding relationships and outcomes.
My son was begging to dissect an owl pellet. These arrived quickly and they were full of bones.
With one of the biggest family holidays only days away, we thought it’d be fun to dive into owl families! We’re quickly approaching the time of year where owls will start picking the mates with whom they want to have clutches in springtime.
Earlier this week we talked about how owl families are formed. Today, let’s take a closer look at some of the common behaviors we see within barn owl families.
The major holiday season starts tomorrow. This year, it looks a lot different.
These vegetarian lizards have evolved in order to survive in this world. They live on algae that grows in the raging surf along the coast, sometimes as deep as 33m, or 100 feet below the surface.
The researcher checking into using barn owls as a natural form of vertebrate pest control, Sara Kross, Assistant Professor at the University of California, Davis’ Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, conducted her studies in California’s Central Valley.
Great horned owls swallow smaller prey whole and regurgitate a pellet like barn owls do. However, because great horned owls have such a diverse diet of big and small animals, they can break up the bones of the animals they eat.
Great horned owls have an interesting diet. They’ll eat animals common to other owls like voles, mice, squirrels, or snakes, but they’ll also take down bigger animals like foxes, skunks, falcons, and other owls.
Owls are so similar in a lot of ways when it comes to their hunting abilities and prey preference and also so different when it comes to where they prefer to live and what they look like! .
Barn owls are awesome. They help farmers save time and money, and they help maintain a healthy environment.
When you dissect an owl pellet, you know you’ll find the bones of the various prey that owls eat on a daily basis. But how much do you know about the different types of prey itself? .
As Halloween approaches, let’s dive into some of the more misunderstood, spooky aspects of owls. Over our next two Monday emails, we’ll be exploring owls in mythology and folklore.
