A big part of Raptor Aid is education and we believe no matter how young or old you are there is always something new to learn, especially when it comes to birds of prey. That is where we want to help you; we have been working with schools and colleges for a number of years now and we tailor each session to your individual needs.

Birds of prey can fit into a huge range of the curriculum and be pitched to each key stage.  We can help make your lessons come to life.  Conservation is at the forefront of what we do and, because we know the future lies with children, we want to empower children to be future conservationists.

Do you need to cover topics such as food chains, predators & prey, nocturnal animals or just owls? Well dissecting owl pellets in our opinion is one of the most interactive and fascinating ways to help children understand all of these topics and much more. Firstly, the all important question “what is an owl pellet?” and you might be surprised because most people think its poop when in fact it’s not…. it is puke! Don’t let that put you off though because in these parcels of fur and bone is a whole mystery into the world of the Barn owl and its prey.

We are fortunate to be able to use and supply wild Barn owl pellets collected under licence from active Barn owl nest boxes in the UK. Depending on the age of the group owl pellet dissection sessions usually last between 45-60 minutes but they can be shorter for younger children or much longer and more detailed for older students such as university undergraduates. Each owl pellet contain’s the fine bones and skulls of rodents that often make up the diet of a Barn owl in the UK, the fun part is finding them and then the tricky part is trying to identify what species the owl has been eating. The identification of the prey is critical in helping us to understand the diversity of prey available to the owls, in what numbers and so in turn how the habitat and environment where the owls are found is faring.

Owl pellet dissections by Raptor Aid are not only designed and ran to excite and engage but also to encourage participants to explore and ask questions. Finally, we can use the data to help landowners make informed decisions on how to manage the land and engage the students in the value of taking part in citizen science.

Your options…

• An environmentally friendly option is to book a virtual lead owl pellet dissection LIVE in your classroom (Costs apply)

• We can attend science fairs and environmental events when possible

• We can supply you with all the equipment, resources and owl pellets you need to carry out your owl pellet dissections - Visit our shop

  If you require any more information or to discuss things further please contact us directly for a chat.