This may be a little disgusting, but it is also fun!
For those of you who do not know, when an owl eats a small mammal, they will often swallow the tiny animal whole. Then, they will spit out the fur and bones in a compact little package referred to as an "owl pellet." If you happen to look around under large trees where they owls may perch, you can sometimes find these owl pellets. Much like with people, it's what's on the inside that counts, so we like to open them up to see!
TODAY'S OWL PELLET
On our way back from doing some chores this morning, I happened upon an owl pellet under a cedar tree. Soon my two oldest @little-peppers were there with me checking it out. We like to slowly search through the hair with the hopes of finding some bones. If you are really lucky, you may even find a skull inside it.
Red-Pepper took the lead with sorting through the hair, and Pinkie-Pepper held onto any bones that she found. It is amazing to see how much hair is actually compacted in one of these pellets.
We did find a few vertebrae and random other bones, but this pellet was mostly hair. While it may not be as exciting as finding some other things inside, it is still an interesting adventure and you never know what you are going to get.
You can see that the one last time had a lot more bones in it, and it was a lot more interesting to inspect. On the bright side, finding one that is mostly hair is a good learning experience too, since it demonstrates the variety in owl pellets.
While picking up regurgitated hair and bones may not be a hobby that everyone shares, it is a cool hands on project to teach the younger generation more about the world that we live in and the way that the natural world words. I still remember first learning about owl pellets as a young child and I've enjoyed finding them ever since.
Have any of you ever found an owl pellet in the wild? Did you already know about these? If you did find one, would you pick it up and inspect it to see what was inside? We know that it is not for everyone, but we enjoy it!
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-owl-pellet
Until next time…
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Disgusting, but it's nature....:)...
You must know that farm inside and out. Pictures from it every day. :)
We are learning it!
You keep pulling these amazing posts right out of the hat.....Now Im 51, when I was a kid down on my grandparents farm we used to have Barn Owls living in the barn...suprisingly enough! and I used to love hunting for their pellets...which to be fair, wasn't too difficult cos if I looked up in the old hay barn, I could usually see where they were having their daytime nap! Thing is, you must have massive owls because I remember mine being quite small and not as furry, but we did used to pick out the bones, I always wanted to build a complete mouse skeleton but it never happened!!
Can't believe how various random posts from various people in various parts of the world keep triggering old memories! Cheers for that mate. As always, my best wishes to you and your family :-)
Very cool! I'm glad to hear it! It sounds like you have a lot of fun with these back in the day! We thought about trying to assemble a full skeleton too, but would need a lot more pellets to sort through.
Wow. Reading your post is always an adventure for me. I will always be on the look out for owl pellet now to see if I will also find some interesting stuffs
They are pretty cool!
Your posts are always funny but informative. Especially with your selfies lol. I didnt know about owl pellets until now. You learn something new each day. I agree with you teaching the new generation of skills and knowledge which cant be gained in school alone. Those children will have a bright future ahead under your wing
Thank you! I like educational and entertaining!
Oh this is my 1st time seeing something like this..there are so many things around us that we ought to know..and i want to be like you and learn it in the practical way :)
I think that it is the best way to learn, and the best way to teach!
Amazing @papa-pepper I always imagine the kind of adventure embedded in each day for you and @little-peppers
I can only wish to experience first hand nature like this. I didn't know anything about owl-pellet until mow. Thanks for this post.
Cool, I'm glad that you learned something too!
😀😀
This kind of adventure depend on region or country. Someone who spend his whole life in the city can't understand or experience this.
Sincerely, it always fun
I'm glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks!
That's a really good story, @papa-pepper! I did not know this, but it would be really cool to find and open one. For some reason opening those really reminded me of Kinder Surprise:
I don't even know if you have those in the United States, so it might not make much sense to you, but it is essentially a small toy found inside the chocolate, and you never know what you find until you open it. Most kids love these!
Interesting, at least those have a toy and something to eat, rather than just leftovers from what someone else ate!
Hehe, that's true. At least I hope that no one ever attempts to eat the owl pellet!
lol
That's not something that I've encountered, although it looks like the kids are having a lot of fun with it.
Not related at all to the topic, but I see a large yard behind you in the last picture. How do you keep the grass mowed?
That is a border of a nearby blueberry field. Very fast riding lawnmowers are used to keep that trimmed.
I was picturing something like the little peppers herding alpacas around to get them to eat the field. Ha ha. I guess a lawnmower works too! :)
Nice I remember dissecting owl pellets in primary school in the 80's. They don't do things like that now! 💯🐒
I never did it in school, but I learned about them at a camp. Not sure if they still do or not.
Great you teaching it to the little peppers they are getting a great education! I hope I can teach my kids as well, when I have some :) 💯🐒
I hope so too!
@papa-pepper thanks for sharing. I have never heard of an Owl Pellet before but now that I know I will be on the lookout. If I find one I will definitely dissect it to see what is inside.
Used to find them all of the time, but never thought of inspecting the contents. Cool stuff! We have owls here, but not many!
Yeah, they can be worth a peek inside!
You know, I almost walk pass this post but am glad I stopped by. Seriously, you mean I have been ignorant of something this amazing, and I'll tell myself, ' I studied science '. Alright, someone gets me my boot, am out looking for some owl pellet
If you find one, please let me know!
Amazing
good job my friend
Good job and nice pic
nice picture
this is disgusting, but it's also fun.
And this can also be made into research how to swallow an owl, until the owl is issued a like this @papa-pepper.
very brief research on something which we see daily but never inquired.
Should i call u a researcher? :)
I salute your children @papa-pepper, they really want to know in everything that happens, they are smart kids
I never saw him sir. did the fur grow from the bone?
No, the meat was digested and the fur and bones were left over.
Papa, you surely like the strange/weird and wild. I admire that. This is actually the first time i am learning and reading this. Like i always say, so much to learn from you. I like the boldness you are instilling in @little-peppers. I am watching and learning.
Yeah, they like checking this stuff out too, and are learning every day.
They are just too adorable. I like their teachable and always wanting to learn spirit. You have taught them well, Papa.
Papa-pepper i don't even know why i watch national geographic anymore... you are giving more info than them xD now seriously, today i learned! This post also gave me a nice PTSD of my anatomy classes :P all those bones
Lol! Thanks for that!
Owl pellets are profoundly metaphorical to me. Owl swallows life whole, then later, vulnerable and alone, regurgitates the indigestible.
There is a cool place near me where owls have taken over the rafters of an old Lockheed site. Graffiti artists spatter the walls with color, and owls spatter the floor with pellets and nesting mess.
https://steemit.com/photography/@creationofcare/surprising-a-barn-owl-mentone-moments-2
We "dissected" owl pellets when I was in Jr. High. They're pretty neat to take apart. This looks like a good learning experience for the kids.
Yeah, I always liked it. Glad that we can randomly stumble upon them too!
I love the life you give to your children, a world of nature and love, I think my son would like to see inside is very curious, thank you for your teaching.
Wow...never seen that before-disgusting but worth learning and knowing about. I guess its like the undigested roughage :)
I have never found or seen an owl pellet. Now that I read your post, if I see one, I would probably pick it up and inspect it.
This reminds me of the cartoon movie : Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole 2010, when his little sister cough up her first pellet, but I never seen one this vividly.
seltenes Abenteuer/ super
SO great! Love to see the fun on those faces!
It's the best idea to get the kids aways from the tablets and into the wild again! :)
t.
Any idea on what animals those are? Mice?
I didn’t know that about owls and my father also doesn’t like the taste of skin. Not in apples or grapes. He spits out the fur of fruit too. His like an owl, right?!
We have owls, but I have never found an owl pellet. This is very interesting, @papa-pepper. I learn something new on Steemit every day. Thanks for sharing this.
Oh wow! Ok, I see this quite a bit around my house. I draw a lot of wildlife in even though I am in the city. I put food out for cats, deer, squirrels, birds, etc. and I noticed things like this around my yard. Mainly under trees and I couldn't figure it out. I always take the remains and bury them the best I can. Good to know.
Yup, those sound like owl pellets!