In January 2020, a falconer from the Raptor Foundation brought a Harris Hawk and four different owls to school for us to watch and learn about before we read the story called 'Owl Babies' by Martin Waddell. 

We met the owls in turn; an African Spotted Eagle Owl, A White-Faced African owl, a Tawny Owl and a Barn Owl. We learnt that the colour of their eyes tells us when they fly and hunt; orange for sunrise/sunset, yellow for the day time and black for night time. Owls' eyes can't move so when they see it is like looking through binoculars. They have to turn their heads to see to the side or behind them, and they have never seen their feet! Their eyes are actually shaped like sausages which makes it difficult for them to see things that are close to them. We looked closely at the colours on the owls' feathers and talked about how they help to camouflage them in the trees.  

We were allowed to stroke the Tawny Owl's feathers on her tummy which were so soft and fluffy.

We saw all of the birds of prey's talons and noted how sharp and pointy they were. 

Next we met a Harris Hawk which was the biggest bird of prey which is found in America in the wild. One of his prey is the smallest owl, so it was good that the birds were safely tied to their own tree stumps. They also eat small mammals like mice, rats, other birds, lizards and large insects. 
 
Finally, we watched the barn owl fly! We closed our eyes and it was so silent when it flew that we didn't know where it had been around the room. We felt the wind from it's wings as it flew over our heads. 

It was very exciting to meet the birds of prey and we learnt lots of facts about them.