Dissecting Owl Pellets

Can we discover what an owl eats by dissecting an owl pellet?

As part of our study of food webs and food chains students had the opportunity to discover where an owl gets its energy from by dissecting an owl pellet.  After carefully separating the bones from the hair students matched the bones to an identification chart.  Students learned that the owls had eaten rodents and birds.  Finally, students assembled the bones into partial bird and rodent skeletons.

Massachusetts Science Standards:

Energy and Living Things (Grades 3 - 5)

11. Describe how energy derived from the sun is used by plants to produce sugars (photosynthesis) and is transferred within a food chain from producers (plants) to consumers to decomposers.