Monday, August 18, 2014

Wildlife Adventures Week Five - Feathered Friends

Feathered Friends Jul 29- 31
Our Feathered Friends week was awesome!  In our class on Tuesday, we had our very own educator, Allie, who volunteers at the Great Basin Wildlife Rescue, come and bring in some of their rescued birds. She brought in Grommet, a Western Screech Owl; Moonshine, a Barn Owl; and Cheyenne, a Red-tailed Hawk. Afterward, we dissected owl pellets. We found all kinds of bones and fur from small rodents, we even found some bird bones. We learned a lot about what makes birds unique, like feathers and hollow bones. It is really cool to see how different birds can be from each other.  We got to touch hummingbirds, ducks, and even eagles from the museum’s collection! We finished off our class time making bird masks.
On Thursday, we visited the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City. It was really fun seeing the California condor, who is one of the largest flying birds in the world and also happens to be very endangered. We got to see birds from all over the world. It was cool to see all of the different adaptations that birds have, like their different kinds of feet or their differently shaped beaks and bills.  We finished off our visit watching the macaw show. Macaws are really loud! They can be heard up to 2 miles away! Birds are really amazing.

Josh, Museum educator












No comments: