Thanks to the
Friends of Baldwin, our kindergartners met the types of owls that live in Cambridge. They met an Eastern Screech Owl, a Barred Owl, a Great Horned Owl and a Norther Saw-whet Owl. The students have been reading about owls. It was remarkable to see the owls up close. These owls that live in Cambridge are hard to find because they are nocturnal - they come out at night. All owls are hidden in plain site and they blend into their environment. Their feathers look like tree bark, branches and leaves to camouflage them. They even have feathers on their eyelids! Our students learned that Screech owls don't screech or scream, they make a chittering sound. They also learned that owls have sensitive hearing and they have asymmetrical ears. The largest owl found in Cambridge is the Great Horned Owl. You can find them at Mount Auburn Cemetery. They have very powerful feet to capture their prey including possum, raccoon, skunks, mice and porcupines. The smallest owl is the Saw-Whet Owl.
The students were also introduced to an American Kestrel Falcon which is also found in Cambridge. They learned the differences between falcons and owls. Owls have thousands of soft feathers, their wings don't make any noise, and they listen for their prey. Falcons have "jet plane" wings that are noisy, they look for their food and they hunt other birds in the sky, not rodents.