Ecology Blueprints

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.

What’s important to you in a home? Is it safety? Or comfort? Do you prefer to live in a certain area over another? Or have your bedroom face East or West? When it comes to choosing their homes, barn owls aren’t super picky.

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.

When it comes to predators, many of us are both fascinated and fearful of them. Owls, due to their nocturnal nature, have proven elusive to many of us and therefore have been the subject of many superstitions.

Does your child groan when you mention science class? Are they excited about other subjects but can’t be bothered with science labs?  It’s time to turn that around.

Have you been lucky enough to catch an owl hooting at night? Did you wonder exactly what it meant? The sounds owls make are different between species, but even individually they can make a variety of unique sounds.

Native to the American Southwest, Elf Owls are slightly larger than a soda can, but that doesn't stop them from being determined predators. Source: Audubon Field Guide.

Barn owls are great at pest control for anyone who works in agriculture. They take care of rodent populations that damage plants by eating the bark or the roots.