Today, we went with our homeschooling group to the Owl Sanctuary down in Ocala (actually called the Ocala Wildlife Sanctuary). This is a non-profit organization that specializes in rescuing birds of prey, primarily owls. We heard about the owls, how they are able to hunt using sound (echolocation) and that they don't need daylight to see.
There were many other birds and fowl there, including ducks, a parrot, a kestrel, a crow, a goose, and more. We saw screech owls, barred owls, great horned owls, and barn owls. Because it was daylight and many of the birds were in heavily secured "mews" (for their safety as well as ours), it was a bit hard to see them, and very hard to photograph them.
We ended the tour by receiving an owl pellet to take home and dissect (this is the undigestible parts of the animal that the owl fed on). Ours was a dark brown one, which should be a barred owl's pellet. It will be a fun thing to dig through.
