Perfect for rainy and snow days with the kids: make a wise friend by crafting a pine-cone owl. (Phil Masturzo/Akron Beacon Journal/MCT)
Two years ago, my husband and I had the great fortune of attending an educational program given by the Medina ( Ohio) Raptor Center. Months later, when he found an injured great horned owl during a Boy Scout hike, he contacted the facility. It sent a trained volunteer to assess the situation and help.
Since it opened in 1990, the center has become one of Ohio's leading raptor rehabilitation facilities, treating more than 400 birds each year. The center brings its programs to various events in the area along with a host of rescued birds with injuries so severe they will never be able to survive in the wild.
I learned that owls, birds of prey that usually hunt for food at night, often suffer serious injuries while hunting.
The Medina Raptor Center's contains all the information you need to help an injured large bird, such as an owl, falcon, hawk or eagle.
The site also has helpful tips for well-meaning humans who may misread a natural situation. In fact, people often decide wildlife is "abandoned" when that simply isn't true. Wildlife parents don't abandon their offspring. Their behavior is the secretive and protective way that wildlife parents care for their young.
Unless you have observed injury to wildlife or direct evidence that the parent of a young bird has been killed, do not intervene. Federal and state law protects nests, eggs and babies. Taking birds into captivity is illegal and you can be fined.
keep birds safe by keeping your cats indoors. Bird-feeding stations should not be a smorgasbord for marauding pet felines.
To illustrate the plight of all raptors, I made a pine-cone owl with instructions I wrote after seeing a similar craft at http://freekidscrafts.com on the Web.
Supplies you will need:
1 large pine cone
2 large wiggle eyes
Brown textured yarn
Feathers
Scraps of yellow craft foam
White glue
What to do:
Glue a bit of yarn to the back of the eyes and set aside.
Choose which side of the pine cone you will use as the front of your owl. Glue one end of the yarn at the bottom on the back of the pine cone and loosely wind the yarn around the cone. When near the top, cut the yarn and glue it in the back.
Glue the eyes to the front of the pine cone.
Cut a small triangle out of the craft foam to look like a beak and glue under the eyes.
Glue feathers around the top of the eyes and to the sides of the pine cones to give the appearance of folded wings.
___
Kathy Antoniotti writes a craft column for the Beacon Journal. If you have a craft idea or question, contact Kathy via e-mail at kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.
(c) 2009, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Since it opened in 1990, the center has become one of Ohio's leading raptor rehabilitation facilities, treating more than 400 birds each year. The center brings its programs to various events in the area along with a host of rescued birds with injuries so severe they will never be able to survive in the wild.
I learned that owls, birds of prey that usually hunt for food at night, often suffer serious injuries while hunting.
The Medina Raptor Center's contains all the information you need to help an injured large bird, such as an owl, falcon, hawk or eagle.
The site also has helpful tips for well-meaning humans who may misread a natural situation. In fact, people often decide wildlife is "abandoned" when that simply isn't true. Wildlife parents don't abandon their offspring. Their behavior is the secretive and protective way that wildlife parents care for their young.
Unless you have observed injury to wildlife or direct evidence that the parent of a young bird has been killed, do not intervene. Federal and state law protects nests, eggs and babies. Taking birds into captivity is illegal and you can be fined.
keep birds safe by keeping your cats indoors. Bird-feeding stations should not be a smorgasbord for marauding pet felines.
To illustrate the plight of all raptors, I made a pine-cone owl with instructions I wrote after seeing a similar craft at http://freekidscrafts.com on the Web.
Supplies you will need:
1 large pine cone
2 large wiggle eyes
Brown textured yarn
Feathers
Scraps of yellow craft foam
White glue
What to do:
Glue a bit of yarn to the back of the eyes and set aside.
Choose which side of the pine cone you will use as the front of your owl. Glue one end of the yarn at the bottom on the back of the pine cone and loosely wind the yarn around the cone. When near the top, cut the yarn and glue it in the back.
Glue the eyes to the front of the pine cone.
Cut a small triangle out of the craft foam to look like a beak and glue under the eyes.
Glue feathers around the top of the eyes and to the sides of the pine cones to give the appearance of folded wings.
___
Kathy Antoniotti writes a craft column for the Beacon Journal. If you have a craft idea or question, contact Kathy via e-mail at kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.
(c) 2009, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
