These fun owl nature study ideas include live owl cams, owl pellet dissection, bird field guides and more to help you learn more about these fascinating and beautiful birds!
Who Cooks For You? A favorite unit study for my boys, Owls! I believe it was the fun of getting to stay up late to listen for owls and call out into the backyard, Who Cooks For You, the Barred Owl “hoot”. I’ve compiled a few Fun Owl Nature Study Ideas if you do not have owls in your neck of the woods.
Fun Owl Nature Study Ideas
Owl Live Cams
For many of us, we rarely have the opportunity to watch owls. Primarily because owls are nocturnal. So I greatly appreciate Owl Live Cams, hosted by the Owl Research Institute. These cams offer many different species of owls to watch from the comfort of your home. They offer at least 5 live cams, some areas are not active year round.
Owl Pellet Dissection
We have dissected owl pellets more times than I’d like to remember the smell of them. But this is such a fun science experiment. We have done this as a group project through our science co-op, a field trip activity at our local Nature Center, and an at-home purchase. Using the Scientific Method you can guess what you will find in each pellet and then carefully pull them apart discovering bones and fur. Don’t forget to discuss new words with younger students like: carnivore, digestion and regurgitation, etc.
Homeschool Nature Study Members can print both Herbivore or Carnivore Worksheet for younger students and the Owl Pellet Dissection worksheet (following the Scientific Method) for older students.
Bird Field Guides for Owl Nature Study
Did you know, there are about 250 owl species? We enjoyed taking a day to flip through owl books and Birds of Prey Field Guides. You can take a moment to read our Top Picks for Field Guides. Field Guides are usually available at your library if you’re not ready to invest in one just yet.
Watch Famous Owls
Hedwig, Errol, Pidgwidgeon … my boys were Harry Potter fans and this series loved to show off many different types of owls. We would pause the screen and then try to identify which type of owl we were seeing. The Owl Research Institute offers a page on their website for Owl Identification. This was quite fun, however not something I would recommend during a busy homeschool day! If you’re not a Harry Potter fan, kid-friendly owl movies: Legend of the Guardians, The Owls of Ga’Hoole, Winnie the Pooh, Sword in the Stone, Sleeping Beauty, etc.
Owl Art
What fun to paint a Little Owl In A Tree, with Nana? These owl masterpieces make for such fun decorations, especially around Halloween. If your children do not like to start from scratch – you can print the bird themed scripture verses – and color in the owl coloring page from Your Best Homeschool. Chat about wisdom.
Did you know owls and wisdom go back to Greek Mythology? Athena, the goddess of wisdom, was often represented with an owl.
Other Bird Nature Study Ideas
We have enjoyed studying birds throughout the seasons thanks to Homeschool Nature Study! Here are a few more posts about different types of birds and great resources to use in your homeschool.
Homeschool Nature Study Membership
It’s a great time to join Homeschool Nature Study! We offer a multitude of science activities, hands-on learning ideas, seasonal nature studies, crafts, free resources for all ages – join the #outdoorhourchallenge community and enhance your homeschool science lessons!
Stef started homeschooling her boys in 2008. She quickly adopted a hands-on learning homeschool style and graduated her oldest tactile learner in 2021. Stef started the Hands-On Learning column in Homeschooling Today magazine. The Laytons currently reside in the foothills of Colorado where Stef also teaches yoga. The family loves to hike trails, stand-up paddle board, and chase sunsets. Stef shares travel and homeschool tips on IG at @LaytonAdventures.