Today we had another visit from Mr. Craig Hendee and Alvin the Peregrine falcon. This time, they helped us explore the different types of feathers we might find on a bird. We were able to look at feathers from an eagle owl, a peregrine falcon, a Harris’s hawk, and a ferruginous hawk. We found long wing feathers, long tail feathers, and even some small downy feathers. The students were able to use Alvin as a model to try and figure out where different feathers might be on a bird. They then tried to sort the feathers according to which bird they came from. They did a great job!
Near the end of our time, we were able to see some of the differences in the feathers according to the bird. For example, we were able to look at Alvin’s wing feather compared to an eagle owl’s wing feather. The owl feather was a lot bigger…and not as stiff. We found out this helps the owl to fly silently through the night.
We can’t wait until Mr. Hendee and Alvin come to visit again!