August 4th is Owl Awareness Day. Yes, there is an owlficial day for owls. I thought I would have some grandkids help me find the books (and perhaps read them!), and then I would put those books in the story. So as I told them, “owl together now!”
Our first book is “Sounds of the wild: Nighttime” by Maurice Pledger, 2013, This is a great popup, but also it has a battery to recreate those animal sounds when you open each page.
Our next book is “Who Sees You? At Night” by Carla Dijs, 1993. This is another cute little pop-up book.
Now we move to “Birds of the World” by Eunice Holsaert, 1958. This is a neat Golden Press book. It points out that owl are one of the few birds that have eyes on the front of their head. They can swivel their heads further than most animals. Their hearing is also very acute. When owls fly, they have special feathers that dampen the sound. Animals cannot hear them flying to attack.
My son and his daughter were in a deer stand, twenty feet in the air supported by a big tree before dawn, last year hunting. A large owl flew right between them. They saw it only as it flew by their faces-they did not hear anything.
We have yet another Golden Book, “Bird Nests” by Nina Shackelford and Gordon E. Burks, 1962. This children’s book describes all sorts of bird nests. It shows that owl have no problem taking over another bird’s nest.
When hunting for fossils at Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area a few years ago, I found an owl Pellet. An owl pellet is the undigested parts of the food that an owl eats, that they regurgitate. I sterilized it, then dissected it with my granddaughter. We saved the bones and such in this container. It was then added into my nature cabinet collection.
I have two old adult books that I included for our topic: “How to Form a Library” by H.B. Wheatley, 1886; and “Books in Chains” by William Blades, 1892. These two books are part of a series of books printed for The Book-Lover’s Library. I have these two, and am continuing to look for more. One interesting fact is that on the front covers of this series, they have a gold owl design in the corner. I have a closeup to show how impressive it is.
Owls symbolize wisdom and knowledge. Since I often research and read late into the evening, I could not have a better mascot (or guardian) looking over my shoulder.
“Boo,” said the little ghost.
“Boo,” said the big ghost.
“Whoo?” asked the wide eyed owl, and soundly scared them both.
PS. I have not figured out how to add pictures to comments. So until I do, will add to original post. A fellow naturalist commented:
Owl bet you forgot about this mount in an unknown home in an unknown state in an unknown country!
Librarytomes 